A Change for the Best
by MindlessKitteh
Summary: How do the kids in South Park react when a family of hippies move into their town for good? The two new girls are set on making some changes, but are they really for the best? OCxCanon pairings!
1. Prologue

_A new family makes their way into South Park from a large city full of crime. All that is known about the family is that they drive an old beat up Volkswagen Bus and live for music._

* * *

An old 1967 Volkswagen Bus – baby blue with slight spots of rust and dents from heavy use – slowly, but steadily, climbed its way up a steep slope. Loads of baggage, lamps, furniture, and miscellaneous knick-knacks weighed down the back half of the bus, making it cramped and lifeless. In contrast, the front of the bus was thriving with life and laughter. Music played as four voices chimed in all together. The voices belonged to a family of four; a mother, a father, and two teenage daughters.

The family was on their way to a quaint mountain town that all of their friends visited several years back for a music festival. The two girls were too young at the time, so the family remained at home. After hearing how nice the town was, and after their own town had a rise in population and crime, they decided to make the move. Clean air, forests filled with ancient pine trees, distant mountains topped with snow; what a change from the stuffy air, barren landscapes, and orange rocks they were so used to. Even though it was around the end of August, the temperature outside was much cooler than where they came from. The sky was filled with fluffy clouds, blocking out the intense sun. The family filled their lungs with the crisp Colorado mountain air and released it in the form of a pleasant chorus. They felt as if their spirits could not get any higher.

A sign along the road informed them of good news: there were only thirty more miles to travel until they would reach their destination. They all cheered in excitement. After driving for eight hours straight, they were more than ready to see their new home. A soundtrack and half an hour later, another sign popped up in front of the family's anxious faces – the sign they all had been waiting to see. Driving past the sign, the baby blue Volkswagen Bus was immediately greeted with shops and businesses on each side. Many people were out walking about, some even waved at them. The two daughters squealed at each other. They were home. They finally had made it to South Park.


	2. Dirty Hippes

_The two daughters are disappointed in their new home, but strive to make the best of it. A few houses down, Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman watched the family move in. Kenny is excited about new girls in South Park, while Cartman nearly blows a gasket when he realizes it is a family of hippies._

* * *

It was yet another sunny day in South Park. It seemed like all of the kids, young and old, were taking advantage of the beautiful day. It was, after all, the final weekend of summer before school would start back up again. Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman all were walking briskly through town, heading to pick up Kenny McCormick from his house. Every once in a while, a car would pass by and familiar faces inside would wave to them. It happened so often, that it became a habit for the boys to automatically wave the second they heard a car coming. They heard a vehicle coming from behind them and simultaneously held up their hands in greeting. Their hands lingered in the air longer than normal as they realized they did not recognize the vehicle or the people inside. The boys exchanged confused glances; it wasn't very often that people visited their quiet town. The expression on Cartman's face worried Stan and Kyle. Being the super best friends they were, they understood the other's thoughts without even having to verbalize. Cartman glared after the bulky vehicle, his fists clenched.

"Guys… Did you see what kind of vehicle that was? Did you see what the people inside looked like?" Cartman stopped walking, staring down the now-empty road. The other boys paused as well and stared at Cartman. As used to his temper tantrums as they were, they still braced themselves. At least by now they knew what to expect.

"Damn hippies!" Cartman shook his fists in the air. "I ridded them years ago from this here town! There should be no more smelly hippies!" Stand and Kyle sighed before continuing on. They would have to listen to Cartman complaining about this all day long. At least maybe he will not make any cracks about Jews today, Kyle thought, frowning.

"Dude, they're probably just passing through," Stan tried reassuring Cartman. "Let's just hurry up and get Kenny." Cartman followed behind the two super best friends, mumbling to himself about how much he hated hippies, with their drum circles, their desire to save the earth and their bad hygiene. The scenery changed drastically as they entered the bad part of town. The houses on both sides of the street were all in terrible condition, some worse than others. Torn up couches sat in some front yards; others were decorated with rusty car parts. Yards were overgrown with weeds and shingles were falling off of the roofs. The boys had almost made it to the McCormick house when they saw their friend sitting in his yard, facing one of the better-looking homes on the street. Just as Kyle was about to call out to see what he was doing, he spotted something that made him nervously glance at Cartman. Parked on the cracked driveway of the house across and over from the McCormicks was a baby blue Volkswagen van.

"God dammit!" Cartman yelled, squeezing the rim of his nose in exasperation. Their orange clad friend turned to wave at them as they got closer, and then pointed towards the house. The three boys stood next to Kenny, who was still sitting Indian style on the ground. Looking up at them and still pointing, muffled words came from inside his hood.

"Look, new people! And guess what – there are girls! Woohoo!" He had yet to get a good view of the new neighbors, but was still excited about the fact that they had two daughters around the same age as him and his friends. While Kyle and Stan became a little more interested, Cartman still had a look of disgust on his face.

"Keeny, are you aware of what you are looking at?" A chuckle and a short muffled sentence came from the orange mass below him. Cartman was not pleased by Kenny's response.

"Ack! No, Keeny! They are filthy, stinkin' hippies!" His shrill exclamation made Kyle and Stan cringe. Kenny simply shrugged and stood up, brushing dead grass off the back his pants in the process. The new people had only made a brief appearance before stepping into their new home. Of course, they were already inside before the three boys arrived. Cartman had no interest in seeing what they looked like, but Stan and Kyle were quite curious. After all, new faces seldom moved into South Park.

* * *

One thing was certain: the girls were certainly not expecting their new home to be so worn down. As the blue van pulled into the weather-damaged driveway, the laughter and smiles disappeared. Their father, known by the name River Spirit, let out a sigh of relief and turned the vehicle off. He looked towards his beautiful companion, and in turn, both of them turned to meet the confused looks on their daughters' faces.

"This is our new home?" the eldest daughter asked with a hint of uncertainty. She brushed her wavy blonde hair out of her face. She could tell what her parents were thinking, just by their expressions. She sighed and nodded, acknowledging that she knew perfectly well that they were lucky to even have a roof over their heads. Without saying another word, she grabbed ahold of the van door and pushed it open. The door protested with a creak. She hopped out and started towards their new home. The exterior paint was peeling off in places and the shutters, faded from the sun, were hanging crooked in a few of the windows. Some of the shingles from the roof had fallen off and were scattered around the yard. Lost in thought about the house, she was not aware that her mother was trying to talk to her.

"Sun, honey, here is the house key." The eldest daughter, named Sunshine Jade for her golden hair and emerald eyes, smiled a little and took the key. Nervously, she turned the key in the lock. The door swung open. They were welcomed by the stale scent of water from leaks and the pungent smell of mothballs. Her mother, Daisy Meadows, scrunched up her nose.

"Oh dear! I think we need to open a few windows to air this place out!" She flitted around from window to window, opening them up to let in the fresh mountain air and let out the stench of a house that had been closed up for too long. Despite the basic carpet stains and the peeling wallpaper, the interior of the house was not in too horrible of shape. While their mother frantically tried to freshen the house up a bit, the two daughters decided to claim their room. It did not take them very long to round the house, since it was only made up of two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and the living room. The girls decided that the room next to the front door would be perfect for them. It was in close proximity to the living room and kitchen (which were combined to make one large area separated by countertops), leaving their parents' room to be on the other side of the house. The family reconvened in the living room once more. River smiled feebly at everyone. As worn out as he was, there was still a lot of work to be done.

"Alright, gang, let's get started!" Clapping his hands as if to seal the deal, he led his family back outside. Even though their home was not magnificent, seeing the large pine trees and the green mountains in the distance made up for it. As the eldest daughter looked around in a haze, her eyes stopped at a house across the street. There was a group of boys standing in the yard, just staring at her and her family. Her younger sister stopped beside her, also looking at the group of boys. Why were they watching them so intently? One of the boys, clad in all orange, waved enthusiastically at the two sisters. Seconds later, he was punched in the arm by the heavier-set boy standing next to him.

"Autumn?" the older sister turned to the younger. "What do you think they are standing there for?" Autumn Smiles, named for her cheerful disposition and birth season, just shrugged and began to help unload the van.

"Don't worry about it, Jade." She shoved a box into her sister, derailing her train of thought. With a shake of her head, Jade grasped the box and headed back towards the house. She looked over her shoulder back at the boys, a peeved look on her face. She felt like they were already judging her and her family without even knowing them. All of a sudden, dread fell over her like a thick blanket. What if things would not change after all? What if the other kids would not accept her? What if the move was all in vain? The girl sighed. Only time would reveal the answers to her questions. For now, there were more important issues on hand.

Returning back to the van, her and her sister helped their parents carry in a mattress. They were now to the larger furniture items, which meant they were almost done carrying everything inside. In no more than a few more hours, everything would be settled in. Jade wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, gazing over their possessions. One good thing about her parents was that they believed material items were of no importance and corrupted the inner being. Because of that, they traveled lightly. It would not take very long to put everything away. Tired and sore, she pressed on. It was only a matter of time before she would be able to lie down and slip into Dreamland.


	3. Hello

_The two new girls to South Park, Jade and Autumn, prepare to head off to their first day of school. They run into the boys they saw a few days earlier at the bus stop and introduce themselves. Happy Autumn is pleased with the introduction, but Jade feels uncomfortable when none of the boys say anything else to them - except for the boy in the orange parka._

* * *

Autumn and Jade woke up especially early. They were awake even before their parents were. Tip-toeing through the house, they got ready for their first day of school at South Park High. Autumn grabbed two apples from a woven bowl on the countertop; one for herself and the other for her sister. Jade declined the breakfast offer with a simple shake of her head. Her stomach was in knots and felt that she would be sick if she ate anything. Autumn stuffed the extra apple in her backpack as she checked to make sure she had everything she would need. The two girls and their parents spent several hours at the high school the day before, making sure there was still time to enroll. Lucky for them, the principal was able to work things out. If they arrived a week later, it would have been a different story.

The blonde sister looked over her class schedule for the umpteenth time. Since they were so late to enroll, they did not have the privilege of choosing their electives. Jade was happy with most of her classes, but would have preferred not to take Home Economics, Spanish, or a computer literacy class. At least she had three classes with her sister. Jade neatly folded up her schedule and shoved it into the pocket of her black and grey striped jacket.

"Well, are you all set?" Autumn questioned her anxious sister. "We don't want to be late on our first day!" The brunette swung her backpack over her shoulder, heading for the front door. She gave her sister a reassuring grin before holding the door open for her. Jade picked up her backpack and walked out the door, Autumn following close behind.

It was a lot cooler outside than Jade thought it would be. The sun was just starting to peek over the green mountains. She took a deep breathe, filling her lungs with the sweet smell of pine and dew. A slight breeze caressed her face, sending chills down her spine. She hoped the sun would hurry up and climb the sky quicker; her thin jacket, the only jacket she owned, was not doing its job very well. To battle her chills, Jade began to walk faster. Laughing gaily, Autumn locked arms with her sister and began to skip. Jade had no choice but to skip along with her sister. The two girls skipped arm-in-arm for a few blocks, until they both were out of breath. Jade, completely warmed up, had forgotten about her previous anxieties and was smiling widely. She was confident that she would be able to get through the day as long as she was able to see her sister.

Although Jade would not call herself a pessimist, her sister was definitely the more cheerful of the two. There was nothing that could bring Autumn down. Jade often wished that she could be happy all the time, as well, but always dismissed the thought as she remembered how tiresome it would be. Autumn was able to find the good in everything and everyone – Jade, on the other hand, could not. The two siblings had a lot in common, but their outlooks on life varied greatly. The biggest example was the lifestyle they grew up in. Autumn adapted very well to being surrounded by peace-loving, earth-saving, government-hating friends and family; Jade just did not have any interest whatsoever in any of that. Her sister was a strict vegan; Jade could not go more than two days without meat. Autumn embraced her full name – Autumn Smiles – while Jade was embarrassed by hers. Who in their right mind would want to be addressed by "Sunshine?" She sure did not. She would always try her hardest to make sure no one knew her full name. At home, Jade would go along with the lifestyle she grew up in, not wanting to hurt her parents' feelings. However, away from her parents and relatives, she was on a constant search to find out who she really was. Autumn had always felt that their lifestyle best suited her sister. Every time Jade would do or say something not following their "hippie ways," she would step on her soapbox and try to get Jade to come back. Despite their differences, the two sisters were inseparable and the best of friends. There was nothing in the world that could change that.

After walking for a good fifteen minutes, the girls finally saw the bus stop. Lo and behold, the boys from earlier were all standing there. Jade slowly came to a stop. She looked at her sister, her anxiety rising, and then looked back at the boys. Autumn knew her sister was not good with strangers, so decided to take matters into her own hands.

"Oh, hi there!" the brunette girl shouted, waving an arm high in the air. Jade moaned and covered her face with her hands, peeking out the spaces between her fingers just in time to see her cheerful sister heading towards the boys. She sighed and followed after her sister with no other choice. All four of the boys were looking at Autumn as if she were crazy. Well, all of them except for the one in orange – it was nearly impossible to see his expression. The heavier-set of the boys was scowling at the two sisters. Jade instinctively wrapped an arm around her stomach to reassure herself that it would not sink any deeper than it just did. Autumn's big smile almost seemed to outshine the sun, which had just made its way over the top of the mountains.

"Hi! My name is Autumn Smiles," the younger sister chimed, "And this is my sister–"

"Jade. My name is Jade," the blonde girl interrupted, giving her sister an intense look. Her sister smiled at her knowingly, before turning back to the boys.

"What are all of your names?" Autumn kept her smile steady, making sure to have eye contact with each individual – especially the rounder kid who matched her cheerfulness with strong displeasure. The other three boys glanced at each other before the one wearing a green ushanka spoke up.

"Um... I'm Kyle, that's Stan, Kenny, and the fatass standing next to me is Cartman."

"'Ey! Shut up, Jew! I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!"

"Well, it is certainly nice to meet you all!" Autumn's wide smile lessened into a pleasant grin. She looked over the boys before turning to face the road. Jade, who had been staring at the ground the entire time, lifted her head up a little. She looked over at their new acquaintances from the corner of her eyes. Not one of them said anything else to her or her sister. The two boys, Stan and Kyle, began talking about last night's episode of a show called _Terrance and Phillip. _Cartman was glowering at the road, mumbling what Jade could have sworn was something about hippies. Lastly, her eyes fell on the boy in the orange parka, Kenny. She startled slightly to see him staring at her with – from what she could tell – an expressionless look on his face. Just as she was about to say something, a muffled sound came from inside the orange parka. Jade smiled, being able to decipher the noise as a "hello." Kenny turned to face the road, as did she, and within moments, their school bus had arrived.

The kids clambered onto the school bus. Most of the seats were already taken. As the group of boys sat down, many greetings were exchanged. The sisters nervously glanced around at curious faces that followed them as they walked down the aisle. They sat down together at the back of the bus where there were not very many people. Watching everyone else converse and share stories from their summer made Jade feel even more out of place. With South Park being such a small town, she figured that all of them had probably known each other since elementary school. How would they take to two strange new girls intruding on their one big collective friendship? While Jade got lost in her thoughts again, Autumn kindly waved at anyone who turned to look at them. The entire trip to the school was bumpy and loud. Jade desperately hoped that the rest of the day would not be the same.


	4. Bloody Balls

_The girls make a new acquaintance in their first period P.E. class - a rather twitchy blond boy. Autumn stands up for her beliefs and Jade ends up with a bloody nose and bruised eye._

* * *

Jade and Autumn cautiously walked into the crowded hallway filled with the sounds of laughter, shuffling, and lockers slamming. Each with schedule in hand, the girls worked their way through the crowd, heading to the gymnasium for first period Physcial Education. The two sisters were welcomed into the gym by the faint smell of sweat and tears. Not many other students had arrived yet. Scanning the area, they saw two somewhat familiar faces sitting on the ground; Kyle and Stan from the bus stop. Sitting next to them, but not being part of their conversation, was a boy with messy blond hair, an unevenly-buttoned shirt, and crazy eyes. The boy seemed to have a nervous tick and looked like he hardly got a wink of sleep. Dark circles stained the skin under his wide hazel eyes. Taking that description, many would match it with someone psychotic, someone dangerous. However, this kid's eyes did not have a hint of ill-intent, but rather compassion and the desire to be accepted. The boy was now looking around as more and more students began to file into the gym. His twitches seemed to become more frequent as the class became full. The sisters began to feel silly just standing around, so they headed towards the only two people they had been acquainted with.

Kyle and Stan broke away from their conversation to greet the two girls they had just met earlier that morning and offer them to sit with them. The twitchy blond boy nervously stared at the girls. "Wh-who are they? Nng- I've never seen them before in my life!" he asked his two friends, visibly shaking as he fidgeted with his hands.

"They just moved here this weekend. Her name is Jade," Stan motioned to the blonde girl, before moving on to the brunette, "and her name is-"

"Autumn Smiles!" the younger sister jumped in, extending her hand toward the blond boy.

"Gah!" the boy exclaimed, twitching again. Reluctantly, he quickly shook her hand. "I'm Tweek. It's nice to – ngh – meet you!" Autumn smiled at Tweek while Jade gazed around the gym. The tardy bell rang and almost immediately the gym teacher emerged in front of the students. Nearly everyone was involved in conversation and was not paying any attention to the teacher. A shrill noise cut through the air as the teacher blew into the shiny metal whistle hanging from his neck. Tweek and Jade both jumped at the noise as the rest of the class slowly came to a hush.

"Hello, everyone." The scruffy gym teacher paused to look over his students. "I am Mr. Slow and I will be your Physical Education coach for this year." He walked a few steps to a metal desk set up in front of the bleachers, where he picked up a manila folder. "I will now begin to take roll. Token Black?"

"Here."

"Kyle Broflovski?"

"Here."

Autumn elbowed her sister in the side to get her attention. The movement caused the three boys to also look at her. She had a playful smirk on her face. "I wonder why they would hire a gym teacher with a name like 'Mister Slow.' Aren't they supposed to be fast and agile?" Jade and the boys chuckled a little, earning a displeased look from their teacher.

"Next on the roll, we have a… hmm… Sunshine Jade?" A few whispers from surrounding students made Jade's face redden. As the girl slowly raised her hand, a smiled played across Mr. Slow's face. Autumn immediately felt guilty about making fun of their teacher's name, especially right before her sister's name got called out. Mr. Slow continued on with roll call.

"Hey," Kyle looked towards the embarrassed Jade, "If it makes you feel any better, I always get ripped on for being Jewish."

"Stan Marsh?"

"Here."

Jade smiled at the boy in the green hat. "That does make me feel better. Thanks." Autumn flashed her trademark smile towards Kyle. While she did not understand why her sister worried so much about her name or what other people thought, Autumn was happy to see someone side with her sister.

"Moving on now... Is Autumn… um… Smiles here?" The bubbly brunette nearly made the Tweek boy have a heart attack from raising her hand up so quickly and loudly pronouncing her presence. Everyone in the gym was now staring in the direction of the loud girl and her four friends.

"Jesus C_hrist_! Gah! This is _way _too much pressure!" The blond boy tightly closed his eyes and buried his face into his knees, blocking out the intense stares.

"Ahem… yes… And last we have," Mr. Slow began. "Tweek Tweak?" A muffled noise came from the closed-up kid huddled next to Stan Marsh. The gym teacher stared blankly a few seconds before marking the boy as present.

"Okay, class, we will start the school year off with a raging game of dodgeball!" Mr. Slow pulled over a basket full of red rubber balls, picking two of the up, one in each hand. "Whoever catches these will be the team leaders." The man tossed both of the balls into the students. One of the red balls bounced off of Tweek's head, which was still pressed against his knees, and landed perfectly into Stan's lap. Two boys behind them were wrestling for the other ball. Finally, the kid with brown hair wearing a red and blue jacket won. With the team captains picked out, the rest of the students lined up against the back wall, ready to be picked.

Autumn stood up slowly, watching everyone else automatically move to the back. Even her sister was moving with the crowd. Autumn grabbed Jade's arm and pulled her back, almost knocking her off balance.

"What?" Jade snapped at her sister.

"Do you really want to be involved in such a violent game?" Autumn questioned Jade, crossing her arms against her chest.

"I would rather play than get a failing grade on the very first day of school." Jade pulled her arm from her sister's grasp and turned to join the rest of the students against the back wall. Autumn stared after her sister, her mouth slightly agape. There was no way she would play a game that encourages violence and pain. She rolled her eyes before turning and walking towards the coach.

"Mr. Slow, I refuse to play a game that promotes violence." She stood tall and confident, despite the scowl on the man's face. "It goes against the lifestyle and beliefs I grew up with. I will not participate." Mr. Slow sighed in exasperation.

"Fine. Here is a health book. Read up to chapter three. Here is the assignment that is to be completed by class tomorrow." The man handed the girl a large textbook and two pages of questions, front and back. Autumn thanked the teacher politely before taking a seat in the bleachers. Back on the floor, Jade looked up at her sister in disbelief. That girl was fearless when it came to her standing up for what she believed in. Jade did not think that it was something to get that worked up over, but respected her sister for doing so anyway. Autumn did always prefer reading or writing over physical tasks. She was probably happier doing an assignment anyway.

Each dodge ball team now had four members. Jade was hoping that she would get picked soon and would not have to be last. It was an unwritten fact that being picked last for anything meant that you were only there to even things out. She did not know how she could handle being –

"Jade."

The blonde girl snapped out of her thoughts in surprise. Did someone actually call her before over half of the other students? She looked at the two team leaders and saw Stan waving her over. Jade kicked off the wall, trotting over to join the other four people in her group. Tweek was picked next for the other team. A minute or two later, each team had their ten players.

Half of the students were posed with their arms behind their heads, prepared to through the rubber balls as hard as they could; the other half were partially hunched over with their arms in front of them, ready to catch the balls. All hell broke loose as Mr. Slow blew his whistle to signify the start of the game. Jade, keeping an eye out for any projectiles coming her way, made sure to stand behind the tallest guy on her team to avoid getting hit. _All is far in love and war_, she thought to herself. Kyle and Stan stood nearby. Out of the two, Stan seemed to be way more into the game than his red-headed counterpart. She had heard before that Jewish people were not very good at sports, but that was just a silly stereotype.

Kyle looked over at Jade for a split second before turning back to the game. "What's up with your sister? Why isn't she playing?" Jade ducked as a ball whizzed past her head. She quickly ran to fetch it and then threw it as hard as she could to the opposing team.

"My family has always preached against any display of violence, whether physical or verbal."

"Why are you playing?" Kyle ducked sideways, just barely avoiding getting out. Jade, on the other hand, caught a ball thrown at her. A short boy in a blue shirt and a tuft of blond on top of his head walked over to the wall with an "aw, shucks, fellas" and sat down.

"To be honest," Jade ducked again. "I think most of what they believe in is just silly. That lifestyle just isn't for me. It's impossible to save the Earth and all mankind. It's just… boring. I need excitement in my life – and meat!" She laughed lightly to herself before looking up at her sister in the bleachers. Autumn was watching the game with a look of disgust mixed with sadness on her face. Noticing that she was watching, Jade took a few seconds to wave at her sister. Autumn tried to warn her, but it was too late. Just as Jade was turning back to the game, one of the rubber balls came flying in her direction, pelting her hard in the face.

A yelp came from the blonde girl as she stumbled backwards, grasping the right side of her face. In spite of her injury, the game carried on as if nothing happened. She opened her right eye, but everything was blurry. She rubbed and blinked, but her eye just would not clear up. Her nose and cheek were stinging so badly, she did not realize the slow drip of blood coming from her nostril.

"Dude, you're bleeding," Team Captain Stan informed Jade, who had to rub under her nose to confirm his words. She started to feel a little woozy from the sight of her own blood. She covered her nose and headed towards the coach.

"Gah! Oh, God! Oh, God! I didn't mean to!" the twitchy Tweek shouted from the other team. Someone from Jade's team saw that as a prime opportunity and threw a ball at the apologetic Tweek, striking him out. The boy seemed almost relieved to be stripped of his duties and quickly hurried to the "out" wall.

As Jade neared the bleachers, her sister came to her side in the blink of an eye. The older sister was bombarded with questions:_Are you okay? Does it hurt? Is it broken? Can you see?_ Most importantly came the "I told you so" part: _See! You should have just sat out with me!_ Jade simply ignored her sister's musings and asked if she could go see the nurse – and where the nurse's office was located. Mr. Slow wrote her a note and asked for Autumn to go with her. Noticing the time, the girls grabbed all of their stuff, expecting to go straight to their next classes after seeing the nurse. Jade moaned and held onto her nose to keep it from bleeding out any more. What a great start of the day. She was almost afraid to find out what would happen next.


	5. Charity Case

_Jade encounters an emotionless boy in blue outside of the principal's office. Lunch time swings around and the sisters find out that Kenny cannot afford a lunch. Autumn pries a little to much, Cartman will not shut his mouth and Kenny loses his temper. Jade finds herself not able to get the boy in blue off her mind - the fear of the unknown is too great._

* * *

The pain on the right side of her face was almost unbearable. She could already feel swelling around her eye. It was almost guaranteed that bruising was also already showing. Autumn had to go to class, leaving Jade to wait alone for the nurse to call her in. Jade settled on people watching to pass the time. After a few moments, the crowd thinned out a bit, revealing that the principal's office was just across the hallway. Three chairs sat outside of the door, with one of them being occupied. Sitting in the chair was a boy wearing a blue jacket, black pants, and a blue chullo with a yellow puffball on top. He did not seem fazed by the fact he was sent to the principal's office on the very first day of school. There was something mysterious about him that seized Jade's interest. The boy in blue shifted slightly in the chair as the tardy bell rang. Aside from a student or two rushing to get to class, they were the only ones in the hallway. The silence felt heavy and suffocating. Jade began to wonder what could possibly be taking the nurse so long to call her in. She found her eyes drifting back to the indifferent boy. Almost like he could feel her gaze, the boy turned to stare back at her with absolutely no emotion on his face. A chill rushed down Jade's spine, causing her to shiver and redirect her focus to her feet. She heard the sound of a door opening and looked up. To her dismay, it was the door across the hallway.

"Hello there! You must be Mister Tucker. Please step into my office, if you will." The boy stood up silently, his hands shoved in his jacket pockets. As if his cold demeanor was not intimidating enough, his height certainly was. Jade still had her head bowed, but her eyes found their way back to the boy in blue. He gave her another icy glimpse before turning to the skinny balding man that was the principal. The principal was taken aback when the tall boy flipped him off as he walked into the office. Shocked at the disrespect, the man stood idly around before frowning and marching back into his office. With a slam of the door, Jade was left all alone.

Not even a minute later, Jade was called in to see the nurse. She told the nurse what happened and was directed to take a seat. The nurse held an icepack to Jade's eye while Jade kept her head tilted back. Even though the tardy bell had rung nearly five minutes previously, she was not in much of a hurry. Her next class was an introductory class to the Spanish language – she was not looking forward to it. The nurse instructed Jade to keep the icepack on her eye until all the ice melted and to get more ice during lunch. As for her nose, it had stopped bleeding, but could resume with any force stronger than a gentle touch. Jade thanked the nurse and headed out into the hallway to find her next class. She was disappointed that not much time was wasted in the nurse's office, but figured it was probably for the best.

The rest of the day dragged by at the pace of a snail. Jade and Autumn had another class together, but were not assigned seats next to each other. The two girls counted the minutes until lunch time. Jade was especially hungry, having skipped out on breakfast that morning. Finally, the lunch bell rang. The sisters reunited at the classroom door and walked together to the cafeteria. The swelling around Jade's eye had subsided, but the bruising was a lot more apparent. Jade was getting pretty tired of everyone staring at her, but she knew it could not be avoided. As they got closer to the cafeteria, the scent of freshly-cooked food flooded into their nostrils, teasing their stomachs and making them growl. Upon entering the bright cafeteria, the girls stepped aside and looked around. Most of their fellow students were in line already; a few had claimed their tables and waited for the line to subside. Among those waiting at a table was Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman. Autumn grabbed her sister's arm and lead her over to the boys.

"Autumn, what if they don't want us sitting with them," the older sister protested. The younger girl ignored her sister and continued to head for the table. The group of boys looked up at the girls as they approached the table. Stan and Kyle were sitting together on one side of the table and Kenny and Cartman were on the other. Stan and Kenny both scooted over to allow the two sisters to sit with them. Autumn took the spot next to Stan; Jade next to Kenny. Jade saw Cartman lean forward and look over at her.

"What happened to your face? Did you hug a tree too hard?" Cartman cackled alone, the other boys scowling at him. Autumn looked at him quizzically, unsure of why he was laughing. Jade self-consciously pushed her blonde bangs over her eye to cover the bruising.

"Shut up, fat boy." Kyle snapped.

"Yeah, it's not funny, dude," Stan concluded. The heavier set kid shrugged and stood up.

"Whatever. I'm fucking starving. Let's go get in line now." Stan and Kyle both sighed. They also stood and followed behind Cartman. Autumn stood up next, waiting on her sister. Jade really did not want to stand in line with the Cartman kid, but her sister would not leave her alone. Caving in, she got up, as well. Her and her sister were about to head into the lunch line, but realized that the Kenny kid was still sitting at the table. Autumn took a few steps towards him and called his name.

"Hey, aren't ya comin'?" Autumn smiled welcomingly at the boy. He looked up at her. "We _are _neighbors, after all! We need to get to know you and that's not going to happen with you just sitting around!" Jade closed her eyes for a few seconds, wishing her sister was not so pushy. The boy in orange responded to Autumn, but neither of them could hear him over the loud chattering in the cafeteria. Of course, it did not help that his mouth was covered up from his parka. The sisters stared helplessly at him. Kenny could tell that they did not understand him, so he shook his head and mumbled a loud, "nuh-uh" for them to hear. Autumn was about to say something more, but Jade cut her off. This time, she was the one dragging the other sister around.

The two girls joined Stan, Kyle, and Cartman in line. A few people ahead of them was Tweek and Token from their P.E. class. The boy that was the other dodge ball team leader, Clyde, if Jade remembered correctly, was also standing next to them. She tensed up a bit at the sight of the person standing next to Clyde and Tweek. Autumn was about to start talking to Jade, but stopped after seeing the look on her sister's face.

"Jade, what's wrong?" she asked, then followed her gaze. Stan, Kyle, and Cartman all turned to see what was happening. Autumn, not pleased by a lack of response from her sister, pressed on, "Who is that, Jade?" The older sister bit her lower lip and shrugged. Cartman was more than happy to answer Autumn's questions.

"That is Craig. He is the biggest trouble-maker hyah. I'd watch your back if I were you, hippie." Jade shivered again, wrapping her arms around herself. Autumn, on the other hand, frowned slightly at the implication of violence. Jade could not control her eyes as they constantly found themselves drifting to the back of the trouble-maker's head. The line moved quickly and before they knew it, the food was right before them. Autumn picked out her food according to her vegan diet, which caused the line to slow down. Jade soon became impatient and skipped over her sister in line, paying out and heading back to the table. The blonde girl slid back into her seat next to Kenny. The others were still in line with Autumn; she had somehow managed to get them all to help her decided what to eat. Jade unwrapped her fork from the plastic wrap and set it in the utensil slot on her Styrofoam tray. Her eyes devoured the chicken strips and macaroni, not waiting for her mouth to jump in. Out of the corner of her hungry eyes, she saw Kenny clutch his stomach and lean forward into the table.

"Hey," Jade began, getting his attention. "Are you not going to eat?" she asked with the upmost sincerity. Before the orange-clad kid was about to respond, Cartman threw his tray filled with double servings of food onto the table and answered for him.

"Keeny is the poorest kid in all of South Park. He can't even afford to buy a carton of milk!" A muffled but comprehensible "fuck you" followed suit from inside the orange hood. Autumn sat down slowly, big compassionate eyes set on Kenny.

"Oooh nooo! That is horrible! No one should have to go without eating! Here, take my lunch. You need it more than I do." The brunette girl smiled gingerly and pushed her food tray in front of Kenny. Without looking at her, he pushed the tray back.

"I'm not a fucking charity case."

"No? Um… Okay." Autumn, not understanding the boy's muffled words, was disappointed and confused at his refusal. She could feel a tense air coming from him, so she just dropped it and began picking at her rabbit food. Jade, on the other hand, heard him loud and clear. She was afraid that her sister's enthusiasm would come off too strong. At least she was unable to understand what he said to her. Autumn always meant well, she really did. She just needed to find a better approach. The table fell silent, but once again, Cartman felt that it was necessary to say something.

"Hmm. Well would you look at that. It appears that even a dirty hippie vegan can afford more than you, Kenneh. Isn't that_interesting_, Keeenny?" Cartman laughed loudly, shoving mounds of mashed potatoes into his gaping face hole. Stan and Kyle both glared at Cartman. Not much emotion could be seen from Kenny, with his hood covering the majority of his face. However, his silence was enough. He turned to look at Cartman, pieces of food flying from his mouth as he laughed away. In one swift movement, Kenny punched Cartman in the arm. Cartman cried out in surprise and minor pain, instantly shutting up. He was never known to be physically tough and often could be subdued with the lightest of hits.

"You deserved that, fatass."

"Shut up, Jew."

Both Cartman and Autumn remained silent for the rest of lunch. Stan and Kyle were off in their own little world, rambling about something only they understood. Kenny spent the rest of lunch staring out the windows vacantly. As for Jade, she finished up her lunch rather quickly and spent the rest of the time simply watching people walk by. The cold boy in blue, Craig, was not in sight. _He must be sitting behind us, then,_ she concluded. She did not know what it was about him that made her so obsessive. Jade had never had so much trouble getting someone off her mind. Maybe it was the fear he instilled in her, or maybe it was the fact he was considered a "bad boy." Whatever it was, she did not like it.

The bell rang, releasing all of the students to their fifth period class. The first day of school was halfway over with. Jade sighed as she threw her Styrofoam tray into the trash bin. Autumn's next class was on the opposite side of the school, so the two said goodbye at the cafeteria doors. As Jade began her journey to History class, she noticed Kenny walking just ahead of her. She called out for him to wait and picked up her pace when she saw he was only going to slow down. Jade caught up with the boy in orange and looked up at him. He was a good five or six inches taller than her, almost the same height as Craig. She did not feel as intimidated by Kenny, though.

Kenny looked down at the blonde girl, specifically at her bruised right eye. In her rushing, her temporary coverage of hair had been blown back. Without even noticing it, he tugged at the drawstrings of his hood, slightly hiding more of his face. Jade looked down at the floor before directing her attention back up at the boy to speak to him.

"I just wanted to apologize for my sister. She's a sweetheart, she really is, but she can get carried away sometimes. All she wants is for everyone to be happy." Jade moved to the side of the hallway and paused in front of her classroom. She half expected for Kenny to keep walking, but instead he stopped with her. "Don't take it personally, okay?" He nodded in response to what she said and was given a small smile in return. Jade felt a little better knowing her sister was not going to be penalized for being too pushy. She thanked the boy in orange and entered her classroom. She sat down in her assigned seat and stared up at the clock. _Just a few more hours._ The right side of her face began to ache again. Resting her chin on her hand, Jade waited patiently for class to begin. _Just a few more hours to go._


	6. Social Anxiety

_As Language Arts class begins, Jade's happy mood quickly diminishes upon the arrival of some unfavorable faces. Autumn makes a new friend and begins plotting of ways to convince Cartman hippies are not nearly as bad as he thinks they are._

* * *

Two more hours crept by before Jade was able to see her sister again. It was 7th period, which meant there was only one more class after that one. Jade's spirits began to rise as she walked to her Language Arts class. She had always enjoyed writing, especially poetry and doing research papers. The blonde girl found her classroom without any problems and seconds later, her sister joined her. The two girls stood in the doorway, waiting for their teacher to point them to their assigned seats. Jade informed the teacher that she preferred to go by her "last name" and then was placed in the second to last seat on the far left side of the room; Autumn was a few rows over, at the front of the class.

So far, there was only one other student in the class with them. Autumn had the girl in another class, but could not remember her name. Taking initiative like always, she started a conversation with her. Jade sat at her desk, absent-mindedly doodling in her notebook. Slowly, more and more students walked into the class. She closed her notebook and watched her fellow classmates take their seats. Her sister was still talking to the girl with the purple beret. They seemed to hit it off pretty well. _Good for her._ Jade slouched in her seat and directed her attention back to the doorway. The girl perked up a bit when she Kenny McCormick enter the room. Out of the four boys, she liked him the most. Stan and Kyle were nice, but they seemed too interested in each other to really bother with new friends. As for Cartman... What reason would she have to like him?

Kenny took a seat in the row next to Jade, a seat behind her. The blonde girl turned and smiled a "hello" to him. Next to the room came the person Jade was growing to already resent: Eric Cartman. To Jade's disapproval, he was placed in the same row as her, a few seats ahead.

"Aw! God_dammit_! I'm going to be stuck in a room with the hippies all year long? _Weak!_" The chubby kid threw his books on the desk and sat in his seat in a huff. The teacher was giving him a warning stare – probably for his language – but he was paying her no sort of attention. Jade groaned and slid further into her chair; surrounding students were watching her and Cartman with curiosity that only lasted a few seconds. By the time the tardy bell rang, Jade was back in a poor mood. Unbeknownst to her, things were about to get even worse.

Their teacher, a rather large, voluptuous woman with greasy hair did a final check of her roll before waddling back to her desk. Right as she plopped down into her straining chair, the classroom door opened. As soon as she saw the boy's hat, Jade straightened up, her eyes wide. Waltzing in like it was no big deal was Craig Tucker. He handed a pass to the teacher and sat down in the empty seat behind Autumn. Jade moaned again, her face meeting her desk. There was no way her day could get any worse – or so she thought. The impact of the desk on her nose, while not a strong blow, was enough to damage the blood vessel in her nose again. "Dammit…" Not wanting the entire class to stare at her, Jade remained at her desk, tilting her head back on the edge of her seat with her eyes closed. Lucky for her, the bleeding was light and would surely stop within a few minutes.

The teacher scribbled something on the blackboard before turning to her class with a big smile. "Hello, everyone!" she greeted, almost as cheerfully as Autumn would. "I am your Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Holscok." There was a brief moment of silence before snickering was heard around the room. The biggest culprits were Cartman and Kenny.

"Ah haha! What kind of name is 'Holscok'?" Cartman hooted.

"I'd like you to hold my cock! Aha! Ahaha!" Kenny chimed in, incomprehensible to all but a few around him. Jade's eyes shot open, taken by surprise at what the boy in orange just spat out. Despite Kenny's vulgarity, only Cartman got scolded, since Kenny had the advantage of being muffled in the back of the room. Mrs. Holscok waited for the laughter to subside before continuing on.

"In order for everyone to get to know each other, I have assigned every student a partner for a _Getting to Know You_ project. When you hear your names called, raise your hands so you can see who you are paired with." Mrs. Holscok began to recite names off a list. Jade desperately wished to be paired with her sister, but knew it was not going to happen.

"Autumn Smiles?" Jade's younger sister raised her hand in the air, beaming at the entire class.

"You will be paired with Eric Cartman." Autumn's hand slowly dropped, as did the large smile on her face. All the way on the other side of the room, Cartman was shooting daggers out of his eyes in the direction of their teacher.

"You've gotta be kidding. It's hard enough to have to sit in a room with these dirty hippies, but working with one?"

"If this is going to be a problem, you will need to work it out with your partner."

"No. No _fucking_ way."

"I have had enough of your foul mouth! Go sit out in the hall!" A few classmates, mostly girls, cooed in a jeering manner as the boy made his way to the door.

"Screw you guys!" Cartman slammed the door behind him. Mrs. Holscok shook her head and continued on. Autumn pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in thought. Rather than be angry or offended at the boy's behavior, she decided it was now her job to try and fix the way he thought. She had persuaded others to see things her way, so she felt confident in her abilities. Her smile popped back on her face as she opened up her notebook. She started to make a list of things she felt were the most important to talk about with Cartman. One way or another, she would be successful.

"Kenneth McCormick?" the teacher called out, scanning her students. Kenny raised a gloved hand in the air. "You will be partners with Wendy Testaburger." The girl that Autumn had been talking to since before class raised her hand, despite already being acquainted with Kenny. The boy in orange waved at the girl, who donned an indifferent look on her face.

"Jade?" The blonde girl lifted her hand only as high as her shoulder and nervously chewed on her lip.

"Let's put you with… Ah, how about Craig Tucker?" Jade lowered her hand back into her lap and looked over Craig. He was slouched over his desk, his right arm dangling over the edge, giving the teacher "the finger." Mrs. Holscok's view of the obscene gesture was fortunately obscured by Autumn and the other students in that row. Jade was not really surprised that she got paired with him. It was just her luck. At least any confrontation or bullying that could occur would be done and over with. The teacher finished calling out names and instructed everyone to get together. In thirty minutes, presentations would be given, as well as that night's homework. She called Cartman back into the room and sent him to work with Autumn, but not until after giving him a short speech about harsh language and people's feelings.

The room became loud with the sound of desks being moved and students rummaging through binders for paper. Jade looked over at her assigned partner. It was obvious that he was not planning on moving, so she grabbed her stuff and approached him. The boy was still slouched over his desk when Jade took possession of the seat to his left. She brushed her hair behind her ears as she fished out her notebook and a green glitter pen.

Craig finally turned to look at his partner, meeting her dead in the eyes. He reminded her so much of the boys that bullied her and her sister back at her hometown. Jade fidgeted with her pen cap, trying her hardest to not let her nervousness show. She was having a difficult time breaking free from his enticing navy eyes. A smirk played across the boy's face, making Jade nearly drop her pen.

"What happened?" the boy in blue asked in a very monotone voice, making the slightest motion to her eye. Jade sat there, stunned, frozen from his icy gaze. She blinked and closed her eyes for a second, snapping out of her trance.

"I, uh... I got smacked with a dodge ball this morning." She took a deep breath and looked at Craig seriously. He raised an eyebrow at her when she did nothing but sit there, staring at him, holding her breath. Jade finally exhaled and jumped right into what had been running through her mind most of the day. "I heard you're quite the trouble-maker and have a bullying streak. You aren't planning on doing anything to my sister and me, are you?" The smirk on the boy's face had faded away and his eyebrows leveled out. In seconds, he was back to being emotionless.

"Who's your sister?"

"Autumn, the girl who sits in front of you."

"No, I won't."

Jade sighed in relief and became a little less tense. She was still feeling uncomfortable, but not as much as before. As far as she could tell, he could be lying, but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. She readied her pen and began to ask him questions for their presentations. Craig was not a very good interviewee, giving blunt answers with no explanation, but began to show the slightest amount of emotion.

On the other side of the room, Cartman refused to speak or even look at Autumn. She did various things to try and get him to participate, but failed every time. He was persistent, that was for sure. However, Autumn also had a persistent streak in her and would not give up so easily. Finally, she decided to just jot down obvious things about him that she already knew. He could get a failing grade right off the bat, but she would not have it.

Mrs. Holscok clapped her hands together and joyfully asked everyone to stop and take their seats. Two-by-two, presentations were given according to the seating chart. The teacher called Cartman and Autumn up to kick things off, since Cartman was closest to the teacher. Autumn hopped up to the front of the room, making eye contact with each individual. Cartman contrasted her by crossing his arms and scowling at everyone. Autumn decided to start off first.

"This is Eric Cartman. He is very close-minded and has a bad temper. He wears a red coats, yellow gloves, and a silly puffball hat. He claims to be big-boned, but after seeing him devour half of the cafeteria, it turns out he's just plain fat." The brunette girl turned to look at Cartman, still smiling, mocking him in front of the class. It was apparent he was about to have another moment.

"Ahem… This dirty stinking hippie hyeah goes by the name 'Autumn Smiles," which is pretty gay, if you ask me. She doesn't eat meat and tries to save the planet. Being a filthy hippie, it is safe to say she's part of a drum circle and has hairy arm pits. I would not touch her with a ten-foot pole. The end." Cartman, relatively calm, walked back to his desk, mumbling, "this is fuckin' gay" out of earshot of the teacher. Autumn thanked the class and took her seat as well, satisfied with her presentation. Mrs. Holscok massaged her temples, already feeling a headache from the stress of the day. "Okay, Jade and Craig, you're up."

The solemn boy picked himself up from his cozy desk and took his place in front of the class. His partner joined him, looking shorter than average next to the tall Craig. Jade smiled nervously, her stage fright starting to get the best of her. Just like her sister, she began the presentation.

"I'm Jade and my partner is Craig. He, uh… he has a pet guinea pig named Stripe, likes _Red Racer_, and enjoys sumo wrestling." Jade fidgeted with her hands behind her back. She had forgotten most of what he told her, due to having all eyes on her. She glanced up at Craig to signify that she was done. Craig, who had been leaning on the teacher's desk, straightened up before speaking.

"Jade and Autumn Smiles are sisters. They moved here from Utah over the weekend. Her and her family are soooo happy to be in a new place. She enjoys art and writing. Oh, and is not very good at dodging balls." A hushed chuckle came from Kenny. Jade realized just how bad that last part sounded and rushed back to her desk with a reddening face. Up next were Kenny and Wendy, following the rest of the class. All of the presentations took up only fifteen minutes, giving Mrs. Holscok plenty of time to hand out assignments before the bell rang.

Jade was looking forward to her next class, and not just because it was the final class of the day. It was an art class, which she knew would be her favorite class. Once again, she told her sister "good-bye" as they parted ways. The blonde girl looked at her schedule, wanting to get to the artroom as quickly as possible. The room was only a hallway and a half away. Jade knew that despite her rough first day, she would be able to focus all of the negativity into artwork. She had been doodling all day long, which helped a little bit, but would nothing compared to being able to sit and draw to her heart's content for an entire class.


	7. Fragile

_Jade meets Autumn's new friend, Wendy, and gets invited to spend time with the other South Park girls. Towards the end of 8th period, Jade sees more of Kenny's face than he would like, resulting in a confrontation that leaves her wondering._

* * *

It was almost as if all the weight on her shoulders melted away the second she entered the artroom. The entire back wall was made up of large windows, letting in plenty of light and setting a perfect view of the mountains. A few students sat at a table, talking quietly amongst each other. Jade was welcomed into the classroom by the art teacher. The woman was tall and thin; her long brown hair pulled up in a messy bun and cat-eye glasses on the bridge of her nose. She had a delicate face, one that appeared to never have any worry on it. Jade was informed that she could sit anywhere she liked, and chose a table near the windows. She took a seat and smiled to herself. At least she would always have this class to look forward to.

A noise behind Jade made her startle slightly. She turned to see that it was the girl with the purple beret her sister made friends with in their last class. The girl asked if she could sit at Jade's table, in which Jade gave her the okay.

"Hi, I'm Wendy. Well, you probably already know that, but we haven't been properly introduced." Jade nodded and introduced herself to Wendy.

"I saw that you and my sister hit it off pretty well last class."

"Your sister and I are passionate about a lot of the same things. She seemed really nice and intelligent and told me I should meet you." That made Jade smile. Her sister was always looking out for her. Wendy continued on, "My friend Bebe and I are having a girls-only party Friday night to enter in the new school year. I already invited your sister and want to invite you, too. It would be a good way to meet some people."

"Oh, that would be great! We'll be there! Thanks for the invite!" A bright smile lit up Jade's face. She was so surprised at how friendly everyone was in South Park – well, mostly everyone. Most of the people she met that day were at least nice enough to talk to her, even though they were not considered 'friends' as of yet. Her previous paranoia of being rejected by everyone was starting to fade away. Jade felt as if she could break out of her cocoon and begin to act like her more sociable self.

The artroom buzzed with low conversation as the warning bell rang, letting everyone know they had one minute to make it to their classrooms. Jade began doodling in her notebook again, all conversations around her fading out as she slipped into her own little world. It was not until seeing movement in her peripheral vision did she come back to the real world. Sitting at her table across from her was a sight that was starting to grow familiar to her.

"Hey, Kenny," Wendy greeted the new arrival before returning to a list she was making for her party. Jade laughed in an exasperated fashion, shaking her head in amazement. Once again, she found herself in the same place as the mysterious hooded boy.

"Are you stalking me?" she interrogated him jokingly.

"I dunno. Why? Do you want me to?" retorted Kenny. Jade chuckled and rolled her eyes. Wendy, who paused to look at the two, began scribbling something down on a different page of her notebook. The art teacher sprang into action as soon at the final tardy bell rang. She welcomed everyone into her class and pointed to her name on the board – Miss Nancy. The students were asked to each grab a syllabus from the center of their tables and follow along as she read it aloud:

"This art class will focus on four forms of art: painting (acrylic, watercolor, oil), 3D (sculpture, functional and nonfunctional ceramics), drawing (graphite, charcoal, colored pencils), and mixed media. A group project will be assigned at the beginning of every month, based on the form of art dedicated to that month. A group will consist of all the people at a single table (no less than two; no more than four). Students will have three weeks to complete their group project. At the end of each month, we will do class critiques for every group's project. These projects will be worked on outside of class or during free time in class.

Students will have daily assignments to complete in class, following that day's lesson. If the assignment is not completed in time, students are to finish it at home. Daily assignments will be due in your sketchbook the following day. If an assignment or project is incomplete by the due date, the student/students will be docked ten grade points for each day it is not turned in. There will be a lot of work in this class, but remember – this class is supposed to be fun! Be creative and enjoy yourself!"

Miss Nancy set the paper down, only to pass out another. This time, it was a class calendar for the first month. She explained that the first week would be dedicated to the students buying supplies and discussing in their groups any project ideas. They would begin their daily assignments the next week. The first month's project focused on acrylic painting with the theme being warm colors.

Butterflies fluttered in Jade's stomach as her excitement for the class escalated. This class was going to be unlike any other art class she had taken before. She would actually have freedom to create what _she _wanted to create, rather than be restricted to a set guideline created by the teacher. She scribbled down a few things in notebook, before looking at Wendy and Kenny, respectively. "So, wanna get a headstart on brainstorming?"

"Nude art is fuckin' awesome," Kenny suggested, leaning back in his chair. It was hard for Jade to tell, but she assumed a sick grin was on his face. To her surprise, Wendy agreed with him.

"We could use this as an opportunity to raise awareness of natural, unmodified beauty. Today's definition of what is beautiful is corrupt! Big breasts and pencil-thin waists do not signify beauty!"

Jade now understood why her sister got along so well with Wendy. Jade nodded and thought out loud, "What about beauty from within?" The three of them sat in silence, pondering over what they had thought of so far. After a few minutes of consideration, Miss Nancy called for the students' attention. For the remainder of class, she would cover the basics of acrylic painting and the psychology of warm colors. Jade opened up her notebook, uncapped her glitter pen, and began taking notes. Every once in a while, she would write project ideas in the margins, adding boxes around the ones she found particularly compelling.

There were still five minutes left of class after Miss Nancy concluded her lesson. Jade was ready to go home and relax after her hectic day. She stood up, stretching, and looked out the large window. Wendy stepped up beside her, smiling lightly.

"I bet South Park is a big change of scenery from where you lived before." Jade simply nodded, admiring the bright green mountains. Kenny stepped up to the window, standing on the other side of Jade. A rather loud, unobstructed sigh from inside the boy's hood made Jade look up at him. Even though he was looking straight ahead, he was standing at a certain angle that allowed the blonde girl to see the slightest amount of his face under the hood.

The sun, high in the sky, was shining directly on his face, revealing baby blue eyes. Golden blond hair, usually unnoticeable against the brown fur of his hood, lit up in the sunlight. What caught Jade's attention, though, were neither his eyes nor his hair. On the left side of his face, mostly hidden by dark fur, was a patch of purple and blue. The left corner of his lips was much darker than the right and looked a little swollen. Bags under his eyes revealed either heavy stress or a lack of sleep. _Is that why he leaves his hood up?_ Jade leaned forward a little, trying to see more. The boy looked down at her concerned face, confused for a second as to why she was looking at him that way. Noticing exactly where she was looking, he pulled the drawstrings of his hood and turned away from the window.

"Wait, hold on." Jade grabbed onto the sleeve of his parka, forcing him to stop. "What happened to you?" The boy stopped moving away, but did not look at her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he mumbled. Kenny pulled his sleeve from the girl's grasp, just in time for the bell to ring. Before Jade could say anything else, he was gone. She turned to Wendy, who had been watching the confrontation the whole time, and asked if she knew what that was about. The other girl shrugged and walked away. Jade sighed and grabbed her things. It always pained her to see others hurt, even more so when it obviously was not an accident. She slowly began her trek to the bus drop-off and pick-up area. It would not do her any good to keep worrying about it. If he wanted to talk about it, he eventually would. Jade decided it would be best to not bring it up with him the next time they met. As curious as she was, it would probably just make things worse.


	8. A God Among Women

_Jade and Autumn attend Wendy and Bebe's girls-only party. Jade gets a makeover and learns some history about her new friend Kenny._

* * *

The remaining week of school went by relatively quickly. The sisters had trouble at first keeping up with all of their homework and getting adjusted to the school hours, but by Friday, they knew what to expect. Autumn remained on Mr. Slow's bad side, still refusing to participate in physical activities in P.E. class. Jade got to know Stan, Kyle, and Tweek better, the latter still guilty about pegging her in the face during their first dodge ball game. Lunchtime was still the same: Cartman being a dick to everyone at the table, Kenny eating the bare minimum (if anything) and Autumn offering to feed the poor boy. Likewise, she was still adamant about turning Cartman into a more caring individual. Right as she would believe that she had made a breakthrough, it would turn out to be just part of a Cartman's plan to try and embarrass her. No matter how hard he would try to crush her spirit, she would never crack. It would take more than a few harsh words to get her to leave. Oddly enough, he only messed with Autumn, barely paying her sister any attention. The two girls assumed it was because Autumn embraced and flaunted their family's lifestyle, while Jade tried to hide it.

As for Jade's threat, Craig – who turned out to not be a threat after all – he slowly became more sociable with Jade. He still was deadpan, but dropped his icy glares and would acknowledge her in class and in the hallways. Autumn talked to Wendy daily, even to the point of telling each other inside jokes. The only time Wendy really had a conversation with Jade was for classwork or asking her to give Autumn something. Over the week, Jade and Kenny began to talk more and began to joke around with each other – mostly Kenny making crude comments and Jade scolding him with a light punch or slap on the arm. Neither of them brought up what Jade saw on the first day of school. She started off gentle and compassionate, hoping he might mention why he was so beat up. The day after, he seemed so enthusiastic and playful that Jade just dropped her concern all together. Even though she considered the two of them as friends, she felt that they still had a long way to go before conversations about their personal lives would not be awkward.

It was finally Friday and the sisters were all set to head off to Wendy Testaburger's house for her party. Autumn had been rushing Jade for the past half hour and flew out the door as soon as her sister was ready to go. She seemed especially happy and bubbly tonight. Then again, she always got that way when it came to hanging out with people. Jade was happy herself, but preferred to keep her excitement concealed until it was needed. As her younger sister went on about every little thing to cross her mind, Jade took in the beautiful Colorado sunset. The sun was sitting atop the mountains, not quite ready to sink below them. The sky, quickly turning orange and yellow, seemed to be pushing the sun closer to the horizon. Jade could already feel the temperature start to drop. She hoped it would not take too long of a time to make it to the Testaburger house.

Despite the dark veil dropping all around them, they could clearly see their neighbor-in-orange sitting out in his front yard. As the girls got closer to the run-down house, Autumn still talking up a storm, he looked up at them. Sitting in the boy's lap was a scraggly-looking black cat, who Kenny was immensely focused on. The cat startled as the girls approached and ran to hide under the tireless car parked in the driveway.

"Hi, Kenny! What are you doing sitting there? That's a silly thing to do! Guess what! We're going to a party now! We've only been here for a week and we got invited to a party! Oh my God, I'm so excited!" Autumn ended her little speech with a squeal and dance of happiness. Kenny stared at the girl before turning to the older sister.

"A party? Can I come?" Kenny stood up, brushing off loose cat hair.

"Sorry, girls only!" Autumn jumped back in, regardless of who Kenny was talking to. "We don't want to risk the girls getting angry if we brought a boy along with us! It's a girls' night for a reason!" Kenny then turned to Autumn, leaning in to where she could understand him perfectly through his hood.

"Trust me… they would be anything but upset if I was there." He chuckled to himself, stepping back and shoving his hands into his pockets. The brunette girl put her hands on her hips, wondering why he would be an exception. She pondered over that for a few seconds before shrugging and grabbing her sister's arm.

"Come on, we don't want to be late!" She started walking forward, dragging her sister with her.

"Wait!" Kenny called, catching up with the girls. "I'm supposed to meet the guys at Stan's house tonight. Wendy's house is a few blocks before his. I was gonna wait a bit longer before leaving, but I guess bein' early won't hurt." Autumn, as happy as could be, smiled and welcomed the boy to join them. Not wanting to be dragged along like a dog, he walked on the opposite side of Autumn. The rest of the walk was silent, aside from Autumn's buzzing.

Nighttime had completely fallen over the town by the time they crossed over the railroad tracks. Not many people were out driving, even fewer were walking around. The sky was now a deep purple color above the mountains and a few stars were making an appearance. The temperature had dropped drastically since the moon took over for the sun. Jade's thin jacket was hardly enough to keep the goosebumps away. She did not really mind the chilly air, though; she quite enjoyed it. She was almost disappointed when they made it to Wendy's house.

"Here it is!" The energetic sister hopped up to the doorbell and pushed the button in. You could almost see her shaking from excitement – or maybe it was the cold. The door opened and let out the sound of loud music and girls' laughter. Jade faced the boy in orange and thanked him for the company. Kenny nodded. He began walking away, but stopped in mid-step to turn and look over his shoulder at Jade.

"If these girls don't do it for ya, you know where to find me." Jade shook her head, smiling, and waved after him. Impatient Autumn stormed up to her sister and grabbed her arm again. It was not until they were with all the other girls in the living room did she let go of Jade's arm. Quick introductions were given and then the party began.

It was a little difficult for Jade to much word in at first. Nearly every girl there was talking ninety to nothing. However, the second Autumn mentioned that her sister wanted to look less like a hippie, all of the girls were over Jade, prepping her for a make-over. She was a little overwhelmed at the sudden swarm of attention, but sucked it all up rather quickly. Wendy's best friend, Bebe, took charge of the operation and began listing off the best places to shop for the cutest outfits. After Bebe finished straightening out Jade's wavy locks, she held up a bottle of deep green hair dye.

"This would look fantastic in your bangs! It is, like, the exact same color as your eyes!" Jade thought for a second about how her parents would react to the hair color. They were all about being natural, which meant no make-up, no nail polish, and no hair products. She looked at the bottle and noticed that it was a hair stain made up of vegetable dyes. It even said on the bottle "vegan friendly." With that information, surely her parents would not be too upset. With a final decision in mind, Jade gave Bebe the okay on the hair dye.

An hour later, the blonde sister was completely made over. It was nothing over the top, but she still looked brand new. Her hair was perfectly straightened and shiny, blonde with deep emerald bangs. She was given a little black eyeliner on her lower lid and heavy mascara in her lashes to draw attention to her eyes. In order to bring even more attention to her eyes, specifically her eye color, a dark, rusty purple eyeshadow lavished her lids. Very light blush donned her cheeks, the goal being to sharpen her facial features. Lastly, her lips were covered in a light violet lip stain. The girls cheered excitedly at their work and handed the girl a hand mirror. Jade had never looked so good. She always felt like she needed something extra, something to make her less bland. That was it: a good makeover. She smiled brightly into the mirror, admiring the girls' handiwork.

Wendy stepped up to Jade, smiling. "Wow! Look at you! You will definitely be able to catch Craig's attention now!" Jade slowly lowered the hand mirror, giving the girl a strange look that anyone could read as, _what the hell are you talking about? _All of the other girls agreed with Wendy, causing Jade to feel overwhelmed with confusion.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you talking about?" At the point, even Autumn was giving her sister a knowing look.

"We've all seen the way you've looked at him!" Bebe noted.

"Yeah! Don't worry, we've all fallen for that whole 'bad boy' thing, too," another girl commented. Jade shook her head and waved her hands out in front of her.

"No, you got it all wrong! I admit, I was a little… hypnotized by him at first, but it was all from fear! I heard he had a reputation and I was nervous he would try to harm Autumn and me, being new to the town and all." Jade gave each girl an intense stare, eyebrows raised, letting them know she was telling the truth. "Look, I've only known him for a week and he isn't exactly a conversationalist. I hardly even know him." A few of the girls nodded in agreement while others expressed that you can like someone without knowing them.

"Wait a second," a strong Southern accent came from Jade's left. A girl with strawberry blonde hair pulled into pigtails stepped forward with her arms crossed. The girl, Milly, had a shrewd look on her face. "I've seen you in the hallways hanging around Kenny a lot." The group of girls looked at each other, 'ahh-ing' in realization. Jade glanced around, confused.

"Yeah! And you two are always talking and looking at each other in class!" Wendy threw in. Jade retaliated, "Um, yeah! It's called 'being friends'!" The girls giggled.

"If I were you, I'd go for Craig. I mean, yeah, Kenny is, like, a god in bed, but that's all he's interested in, nothing serious," said Milly. Jade's face flushed – from anger or discomfort, she could not tell.

"Wha- No! How do you know that?" Jade spat, frowning. Sure, she had just become friends with the boy, but that did not mean she would let others talk bad about him.

"Girl, we _all_ know that." Every girl in the room, except Autumn, nodded.

"He'll do _anything_ for money."

"Surely you've noticed by now that he's a pervert."

"Yeah, and rightly so." More giggles erupted around the room. Autumn's face was almost as red as Jade's was. Jade crossed her arms.

"Then why hasn't he tried anything if he's such a pervert? Hmm? He lives right across the street and not once have I seen him peeping on me or Autumn!"

"Like it's already been said: he does things for money," another girl, Red, piped up. Jade's frown deepened. If it was only or two girls saying those things, she probably would not believe them. But every single girl in the room was confirming the facts. She sat quietly, staring at her feet. Part of her still did not want to believe them, but after piecing things together, she started to notice the signs. Jade thought he just had _that kind_ of personality, not that he actually acted on it. He always seemed too reserved. _Maybe he's actually hiding his face in shame,_ Jade thought. She wished that she had never heard any of those things. It would be awkward around him from then on. _I guess it's better to find out sooner than later._

The girls ended up shifting the gossip to another boy, one which the girl named Heidi was interested in. Jade remained quiet for the rest of the night, only speaking up when asked a question. Most of the time was spent with boy talk, dancing to the latest pop music, and watching sappy romance movies. Autumn was having the time of her life, which Jade was happy for. She just wished her night had not been ruined by finding out something rather serious about her newest friend. She began questioning what little friendship was between her and Kenny. Was there an intention of an actual friendship on his half, or just another way to earn some cash? Go figure, it would be her luck if it was the second option that was true.


	9. An Unfit Home

_A drunken and damaged Kenny is found outside his home. Jade drops all of her assumptions and lends a caring ear._

* * *

It was around 2am when everyone got ready to go to sleep. Jade still had her mind wandering around Kenny. There was more to him than meets the eye, she knew that now. Something was off about him, something big. First, his face is all but beaten in and now this? Jade felt that someone needed to talk to him, and not for a job proposal. If he did not start being more careful, he could end up six feet under in no time. She felt that she had to be that person, since, apparently, no one else would be.

The girl tossed and turned in her sleeping bag. She looked up at the clock, its face telling her she had been staring at the ceiling and walls for an hour. Sleep would never grant her admission to Dreamland any time soon – she could tell. As quietly as possible, Jade gathered up her things, stepping over all the unconscious girls in the floor, and left the house. What good would it do her to stay there restless? It would be better back at home, anyway. Less people meant less snoring. She shivered as a cold breeze danced around her. All she had on was her thin jacket, a white tank top, and black fleece pajama pants. It was going to be a long, cold walk back home unless she picked up her pace.

Dew was on the grass and fog was rolling in. Jade dully noted the new changes and pushed them to the back of her mind to think about later. Her main priority at this time was getting back home safely. The crime rate in South Park was significantly lower than her old town, but that paranoia and cautiousness stuck with her regardless. It took the girl about twenty minutes to reach the railroad tracks. In another ten minutes, she would be back in her warm bed. She slowed down her gait as she entered the poor part of town. From where she was standing, she could see her house all the way at the end of the street. She released a sigh of relief as she caught her breath. The sound of her shoes scuffing the cement sidewalk echoed slightly between the rows of houses. Everything around her was silent – that is, until she got closer to the McCormick home.

Even from a block away, she could hear yelling from inside the house. She slowed down even more, staring into the kitchen of the house where Kenny's parents were arguing back and forth. A plate flying here, a glass flying there, she was not too surprised to see their son sitting against the side of the house. Everything she had learned about the boy that night vanished and was replaced with worry as she saw him huddled against the wall. Jade paused under a streetlight – the last one on the street – and stared at the boy. The scuffling noise she made caused Kenny to look up towards the street. When Jade saw him look away and rest his head back on his knees, she decided that she better had check on him.

The grass, mostly dead, crunched under Jade's shoes as she ran over to check on the boy. He did not look up when she kneeled in front of him, but instead kept staring down at his shoes. The girl tried to look at his face, but he kept avoiding her. Being that the kitchen window was just around the corner, she avoided making any noise that might cause unwanted attention. Ultimately, Jade resorted to grabbing ahold of the fur on Kenny's hood to force him to look at her. Blue eyes burned holes through her face, but she was not daunted. It was as she expected: fresh blood dripped down from his lip – busted – and dark bruising circled his eye. The boy shook his head to break free from Jade's grasp, promptly tightening his hood to cover his face.

Kenny turned away from her and took a big swig from a half-empty bottle of liquor. He was already starting to get sick of her concerned face. Actually, it was probably just the alcohol making him irritable. After all, it was what ignited the wildfire in the kitchen. He looked back at Jade. She appeared slightly blurry, probably from his swollen eye and boozing. Was there really green in her hair, or was he just seeing things? The boy closed his eyes for a second to steady the moving ground. Jade placed herself next to him and pulled on his hood again.

"Let me see your face! I need to make sure it isn't too bad," she commanded in a hushed voice, tugging on the fur.

"Fuck off," hissed Kenny, swatting at her hand, but missing entirely. He lifted the bottle up to his lips, but to his surprise and confusion, the bottle had disappeared right out of his grasp. Kenny growled and hastily turned to look at Jade, wobbling in the process. She was holding the bottle out beside her, swishing its contents around.

"If you want this back, you will tell me what the hell is going on. Do your parents always fight like this?" Kenny made a feeble attempt to reclaim what was his, but ended up falling face first into the deadening grass. He rolled over on his back, the bottle of alcohol just above his head. "Tell me," Jade ordered seriously. The boy whined and held up his arms toward the bottle. It was still just out of his reach.

"Fine," he spat out, closing his eyes again in an attempt to ease the spinning. "Yeah, this happens every fuckin' time he comes home from the bar. He gets drunk, comes home, gets more fuckin' drunk, picks a fight with my mom and me, fuckin' tosses us around, then goes to sleep." Kenny worked himself into a sitting position, eyes still closed. "My sister, Karen… I make sure she's locked in her room when things start to get bad." He opened his eyes and looked at Jade, his eyes faltering at the bottle of booze for a split second. Certain sadness replaced the former irritation in his eyes. "It hurts so fuckin' bad to hear Karen crying through the walls..."

Jade lowered the bottle onto the ground and positioned herself back in front of the boy. She slowly brought her hands up and tugged at his hood again. To her surprise, there were no objections. The look that was on Kenny's face made Jade's eyes water up. He was almost to the point of tears, but was trying so hard to keep them back.

"Have you told this to anyone else? Stan or Kyle? The police?" The boy's eyes fell to the side, breaking contact with Jade. She took that as a 'no.' Tugging on the fur, she brought his eyes back up to hers. "Why haven't you told anyone? This is serious." Kenny sighed unsteadily.

"Stan and Kyle would flip shit if they knew. They would call the police and my dad would get thrown in jail."

"Yeah, and that would be a good thing!"

"Nuh-uh… He would just come right back for us. He would be even more fuckin' violent."

"Look, if something isn't done, you could end up dead!" There was a sudden change in Kenny's eyes, but it was hard for Jade to read. The glassiness was gone, but the pain was still there. Kenny knew it would be useless to explain his… curse. Even if it is always easiest to talk to someone you hardly know, he knew she would not believe him. No one ever believed him, especially if he had been drinking the night of an accident. At least with him only being bruised and battered, she would remember everything, unlike if he were to die. But, did he really want that? Did he really want someone to know how bad things were at home?

Kenny sighed, stilling looking Jade dead on in the eyes. "I won't be dying anytime soon." The two sat in silence for a minute before realizing just that – it was quiet. The fighting inside the kitchen had come to a halt. Jade released Kenny's hood and pushed herself into a standing position. Kenny grabbed his mostly empty liquor bottle and, using the side of the house as support, joined the girl in standing. Kenny tried to work up a small grin, but failed. Jade smiled for him and patted him on the arm reassuringly.

"I don't know how I can help, but I'm just across the street if anything comes up. I could watch Karen or something, or hide you and your mom, or maybe I could – " Jade stopped mid-sentence from pure surprise. Before she even knew what was happening, the drunken Kenny had his arms around her, trying to hold back more tears. He was shaking pretty badly, and it was not from the cold. After a few seconds, the boy let go and took a clumsy step back.

"Um… Thank you…" And with that, Kenny spun and stumbled his way back into the house. Jade watched as the kitchen light flicked off and knew that her work was done. She thought she would feel relieved helping him, but she just felt worse. No one deserves a life like that. She did not want to be too pushy about it, but something had to change. Jade knew she could not tell anyone about what happened. Although he never straight out said not to, his eyes said everything. She could not remember seeing so much pain and sadness in an individual as what she saw in Kenny. There was something else he was not telling her, but it had to have been hard enough telling her everything that he just did. She would leave it at that and hope that one day he could tell her everything.


	10. Plans

_Autumn realizes her sister left the party early and thinks the worst. The sisters leave their home, each with a plan on how to spend their day._

* * *

Jade had left Wendy's house in order to be able to sleep, but she found herself even more unable to after her encounter with Kenny. She lied awake in her cozy bed, her favorite blanket pulled all the way up to her chin. The curtains of her window were closed, but the window was cracked to let fresh air in, which caused the fine curtains to move in the occasional breeze. The girl faced the window, her eyes steady on the house across the street. She was concerned that another argument would break out, but as an hour went by, everything seemed to be okay. As her worries eased up a bit, she slowly drifted into sleep.

Across town, Autumn Smiles was woken up by the infectious smell of bacon and eggs. One by one, the girls around her began to wake up, as well, excited by the aroma of pig fat sizzling in grease. Autumn began organizing her things, not wanting to stay around for the meat feast. She opened her mouth to say something to her sister, but was silenced by the fact that Jade's sleeping bag was no longer next to her and that she was missing entirely. Confusing, the girl stood up, tossing her bag over her shoulder, and walked into the kitchen where everyone else was.

"Hey, have any of you seen my sister?" The girls glanced around at each other, shaking their heads. Autumn frowned. _I guess she went home early, _she thought to herself. Thanking Wendy for the fun night and bidding the rest of the girls adieu, Autumn began on her way home.

The sun had just topped the mountain and was evaporating the dew on the grass, as well as dispersing the remaining fog. It was still chilly, but the sun was warm. A few cars passed by, penetrating the early morning silence. Autumn grinned and waved at every person she passed by on her way home. She wondered why her sister left so early and without a word. Jade appeared to be enjoying herself at the party, so what compelled her to leave. _ Now that I think about it, she got quiet after the talk of Kenny._ Autumn hummed to herself, thinking she might know why her sister left early and without a word. _Maybe I should pay him a visit…_ Autumn adjusted the bag on her shoulder and crossed the train tracks, her destination in sight.

Autumn stepped up to the door of the grungy house and knocked loudly. It was a few moments before she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. A clearly sleep-deprived woman with red hair and a black eye opened the door. "Can I help you?" the woman inquired, still half asleep. Autumn shuffled nervously, glancing past the woman and into the house, dirty and empty.

"Hi, um, I'm Autumn Smiles. My family just moved in across the street a week ago. I was just wondering if my sister is here. She's friends with Kenny." The woman shook her head and told Autumn that she had not seen anyone else around. The girl thanked Mrs. McCormick and apologized for waking her. She turned on her heels and heading towards her home. _At least she didn't stay the night with him._ Autumn entered the house as quietly as possible and quickly scrambled into her and Jade's room. Sure enough, there was her sister, sound asleep in her bed. Autumn set her bag down and tiptoed to her sister. She shook Jade's shoulder lightly until her sister stirred. "Hey, wake up."

The blonde sister opened her heavy eyes and sat halfway up. "What?" she grumbled, looking over at Autumn. "Oh, you're back."

"Why did you leave so early and without saying anything to me?" Autumn interrogated.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came home," Jade responded, lying down again, her back to her sister.

"Did you go see Kenny? You were acting weird after hearing all that stuff about him." Jade remained silent, trying to go back to sleep. Autumn was now looming over her sister, her hands on her hips, wanting an answer. "Well, did you? Hmm?"

Jade groaned and rolled over to face her sister. "No, I did not." She did, in fact, see the boy, but not in the context her sister was implying. Autumn raised an eyebrow, not entirely believing Jade. Jade frowned at her and gave her a look that said, _What kind of person do you think I am?_ Autumn backed off a bit and sighed in relief. She knew her sister respected herself, but needed to be reassured, nonetheless. "I'm going back to sleep," Jade informed her sister, shutting her eyes. "Wake me when Mom and Dad are up."

The brunette sister pulled a shirt and pants out of the closest and swapped the pajamas she was wearing with the outfit. It was still early, so there was not much to do. Most kids would probably spend their early Saturday morning watching cartoons, but Autumn's family did not own a television. They did not even own a computer. The only electronic device in their house was a phone on the kitchen wall, which came with the house.

The girls' parents believed that technology was just there to bog down everyone's minds. Autumn and Jade were probably two of the only teenagers in town without cell phones. Jade, of course, yearned for electronic devices. Autumn, on the other hand, somewhat agreed with her parents, but thought that they should at least have cell phones, for safety reasons. At the moment, though, Autumn was glad they did not have a television or a computer. That meant she would be able to complete her weekend homework without any distractions. She fished out her textbooks and notebook from her backpack and sat on her bed. She predicted a few hours would be taken up by homework – not because she did not understand the material, but because she always had to double-check everything to make sure it was perfect. Autumn got to work just as Jade arrived back into Dreamland. The two sisters embarked on their own journeys, oblivious to each other's presence.

It was around noon when Jade and Autumn's parents were awake and ready to start their day. Autumn woke her sister up as requested and the two of them sat at the table with their father. Daisy Meadows was making up some lunch for everyone while River Spirit flipped through the newspaper. Their mother set some sort of soup in front each daughter, smiling, until she came to Jade. Her eyes danced back and forth between the bright green in her daughter's blonde hair and the vast amounts of makeup on her face. "Sunny, dear… What is all that?" Jade slurped up a spoonful of soup, batting her dark and long eyelashes at her mother.

"The other girls gave me a makeover at the party last night." Daisy frowned and crossed her arms – the typical 'upset mother' stance.

"Was any of that stuff tested on the animals? Were there any animal products used? What about the stuff in your hair? Was it vegan?" Upset, yet calm, the girls' mother took a seat. "No, no, and yes," was Jade's quick response. Daisy seemed pleased enough, but still did not like seeing her daughter so dolled up to the current day's standards of – fake – beauty. She relaxed a little bit and smiled again. "So, what plans do you have for today?" she asked the girls, seating herself next to them at the table. Autumn was the first to answer.

"Well, I figured that I would see if anyone around town needs some extra help with anything." A toothy grin stretched across the brunette's face. She had an idea of whose house she wanted to stop by first. As for Jade, she just shrugged.

"I don't really have anything planned." The expectant look on her mother's face forced her to come up with a better answer. "But, I do have a group project for my art class. I guess I can see if the other two people in my group want to work on it." Daisy nodded in response to her two girls and stood up.

"I am going to go into town to buy supplies to start up a new garden in the backyard! Your father said he's going to fix up the old shed so I can use it!" River, still flipping through the newspaper, mumbled, "That's right," then absentmindedly pointed to an old toolbox next to the backdoor. Autumn and Jade joined their mother in standing. All three women walked out the front door, leaving the lone man of the house to his paper. River chuckled slightly and muttered under his breath, "Oh, though crazy girls."

Daisy hopped into the family van and drove away into town, the girls waving after her. The sisters stood in the sunlight, basking in the warmth. Autumn looked over at her older sister, her grin pasted onto her face. "I'm going to head over to Cartman's house. I'm sure his mother would appreciate some help around the house. And while I am helping, I will be able to start teaching her son to accept people for who they are!" The brunette stood tall, her hands on her hips, and nodded once in determination. Jade sighed, knowing that her sister would have her work cut out for her. She patted her sister on the back and saw her off.

Now, it was just her all alone in the front yard. She heard the sounds of her father working on the shed. Aside for the _tap, tap, tap_ of a hammer and the humming of a lawnmower somewhere a few houses down, their street was quiet. Jade pulled her long hair to the side and tied it up with a green hair scrunchie on her wrist. She inhaled, then exhaled, and ran her fingers through her green bangs. Jade began her trek to the McCormick house, uncertain of what to expect. Her hopes were to get in and get out as quickly as possible with no chatter about the previous night. _He probably won't even remember I was there, with as empty as that bottle was, _Jade tried reassuring herself. She just did not want there to be any awkwardness if they were going to have to spend all day working on the project. Wendy would definitely assume something happened that night, especially since she was aware that Jade ducked out early.

Jade walked up to the door, hesitating a moment before knocking. All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind, all of them about the previous night. She had learned too much about the boy in orange in too short of a time. Quite frankly, Jade did not know what to think of everything. Many questions floated silently in her throat, waiting patiently for the right time to come out. Lost in thought again, the girl startled when the door opened. She could already tell it was going to be a long day.


	11. This Means War

**I am so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I have been completely overwhelmed with school and work. I won't be able to upload new chapters very often, but I will not be abandoning this story any time soon! I want to thank everyone who has read my story and especially the ones who favorited it and are following it! 3**

* * *

_Autumn begins to put her plan into action with the aid of her helpful nature and the start of a friendship with Lianne Cartman. Jade reluctantly goes to the McCormick home so they can work on their school project with Wendy. In the process, she meets Stuart and Karen McCormick, learns Karen has a guardian angel, and that Kenny perfectly remembered the previous night._

* * *

Jade stared blankly at the face belonging to the body that opened the door. The tall adult body donned a messy turquoise shirt – stained – and atop the head of oily brown hair set a red trucker's hat. Over the mouth, slightly parted, sat a horseshoe mustache. After a few moments of silence, Jade knew she was going to have to be the one to speak first. She politely introduced herself and stated the reason for her appearance. The man's expression softened, much to Jade's surprise, as he moved aside and welcomed her inside the house. She hesitated a moment before stepping into the home. The man called for his son before heading into the kitchen for a beer.

Jade stood awkwardly by the front door, peering around the living room. There was barely any furniture in the room; the furniture that did exist was ancient and nearly falling apart. There were stains in the carpet and the ceiling; paint and wallpaper had begun to chip and peel away. A dark shadow scurried into the kitchen and under the counter where a hole in the wall was apparent. Jade shifted her weight uncomfortably. A few seconds later, the boy in orange made an appearance, walking down the hallway into the living room with his sister, Karen, by his side. A tug on his sleeve caused Kenny to look down at his younger sister. She bashfully looked at the stranger in their house and then back to her brother.

"Is that her?" she asked, with big, round eyes. The older brother nodded and patted her on the back. Karen smiled and shyly strode up to Jade. "Tell Mysterion 'hello' for me, okay?" The young girl turned back to her brother. "Bye, Ken!" She gave Kenny a quick hug before running out the door, off to a friend's house. A look of great confusion was plastered on Jade's face. Turning to the boy in orange, she wondered out loud, "Mysterion? Who's Mysterion?" He just shrugged and responded, "her guardian angel." Jade was about to say more when Kenny cut her off. "To what do I owe this visit?"

Jade motioned behind her in the direction of her house. "My mom expects for Autumn and me to not waste valuable time. I told her about our art project, so I figured it would be a good time to actually work on it." Kenny nodded and told Jade to hold on a second. He went to retrieve his school bag and headed into the kitchen where he informed his parents he would be back later. Before anyone could say anything, the two teenagers were out of the house.

The two walked in a comfortable silence, both knowing their next destination to be Wendy Testaburger's home. The blonde girl suddenly felt like she was being watched, but tried to ignore it. When she could not stand the feeling any longer, she glanced at Kenny out of the corner of her eye. As she expected, he was staring at her. Now a little uncomfortable, the girl gave him a look that asked, '_Can I help you with something?' _ Kenny blinked a few times. "Huh. You actually do have green in your hair," he commented, returning his gaze in front of him, saying nothing more. Jade felt her stomach sink. He did remember the previous night after all. Now, it was going to be difficult for her to not feel awkward or emotional about what she witnessed. The two walked in silence again: Kenny, because he's a guy of few words; Jade because she found herself back at last night.

* * *

Humming a cheerful tune, Autumn Smiles skipped up to the Cartman residence. She smoothed out her hair, straightened out her blouse, and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened and the smell of freshly baked cookies flooded into the girl's nostrils. A cheerful woman in a turquoise shirt and red pants smiled sweetly at Autumn.

"Hello there! My name is Autumn Smiles! My family just moved here and to get to know people, I've been going house-to-house seeing if anyone needs any assistance!" The girl grinned her signature smile, her fingers entwined between her back. "I go to school with your son," she continued, "and he said you could use some help around the house!" Eric Cartman did not really say that, but Autumn felt that it would be convincing enough. As she suspected, Lianne Cartman welcomed the girl into their home.

"Oh, well aren't you darling! I would love some company! Oh," the mother scuffled into the kitchen, returning a second later holding out a plate with chocolate chip cookies piled on top. "Would you like some cookies? It would be best to have one before my little Poopsiekins gobbles them all up." Autumn gratefully took a cookie from the top, internally snickering at the mother's pet name for her son. The two women sat down in the living room and began telling each other about themselves. Autumn wondered how it was possible for such a crude boy to come from such a kindhearted woman. Lianne seemed to be a key example of what makes a perfect mother. The girltalk continued on, followed by laughter once they were comfortable enough with each other. A voice outside of the front door caused their conversation to cease.

A few thumping steps trailed up to the door. Then, a moment of silence before a voice rang out exclaiming excitement for the baked treats. "Poopsiekins" had arrived home after spending the night and most of the morning at Stan Marsh's house. If only he knew there was a bigger surprise than cookies waiting for him inside. Autumn braced herself, anxious to see the boy's reaction to her presence. A new smiled crawled onto her face – a twisted grin.

The doorknob rotated and the heavy-set boy came bursting into the house. Blinded by hunger for the sugary delights, he did not even notice the hippy girl sitting across from his mother in the living room. Not until two and a half cookies had traveled down his gullet did he realize that something was not right. Eric stopped dead in his tracks, nearly spewing the half-chewed cookie in his mouth. "No, no, no! No way in hell! Meeem, why is there a dirty hippie in our house?" If he still had Insecurity installed, his alarm would be going off like no tomorrow. The young brunette grinned and waved enthusiastically at the distressed boy.

"Mommy is finally going to have some help around the house! Isn't that wonderful, sweetie?" Lianne got her answer just by looking at her son's gaping mouth and wide eyes. Eric could not believe what he was hearing. Now he knew for sure that the hippy was out to get him. It was so like that neo-hippie to pull something like that; if you do not believe in what they do, they will go to extreme lengths to prove themselves right. He was not going to stand for this. With a "fuck you, hippie!" and a "Poopsiekins! Language!" in response, he stormed to his room and locked himself in.

"Oh, dear. I am sorry about that. He has a quick temper, you see. I even hired a dog whisperer to help me once." Mrs. Cartman smiled, embarrassed. Autumn chuckled and gave the mother a reassuring smile. "Don't you worry, Mrs. Cartman. I'm very good with people. If nothing else, he will at least pick up on my manners!" The two women picked back up on their previous conversation while Eric sat in his room, trying to figure out Autumn's incentive to befriending his mother. It was obvious that she was planning something. If anyone could tell, it was him. No way in hell would she be able to beat him at his own game. A mad grin came across his round face as his own idea came to him. From then on out, there would be war, and he knew just how he would win the victory.


	12. The Phoenix

J_ade and Kenny visit Wendy to work on their art project. Wendy notices something odd. Autumn returns from the Cartman residence and reveals a new friendship. _

* * *

A large canvas was set on an old sheet in the Testaburger's backyard. Surrounding the sheet laid tubes of acrylic paint, paint trays, water, and brushes of all sizes. Jade, Kenny, and Wendy all stood in a circle around the art supplies, still unsure about their project. They all had many ideas, but they all fell through. As much as Kenny and Wendy liked the subject of portraying the female body in a beautiful, yet powerful way, neither of the girls were willing to model, no matter how much Kenny plead.

"I've got an idea," the boy in orange piped up after a moments silence.  
"We told you already," Wendy sighed in exasperation, "we're not getting naked."  
"Sadly," Kenny mumbled as he brought a book out from his school bag. "I found this in the library." He held out the book to Wendy, who took it with curiosity. It was an old mythology book that looked to have been a hundred years old. There was a torn piece of paper in place of a bookmark. Wendy flipped to the saved page and smiled when she was what the chapter was about. Kenny took the smile as a good sign and decided to run his idea by them.

"I figured it would be neat to do somethin' with a phoenix. The story isn't only fascinating, but look," the boy flipped a few pages over and pointed to an illustration, "it's also beautiful." Jade grabbed a pencil and kneeled down beside the canvas. She began to make soft marks where she had an idea for the bird of fire to go. "We could have a reborn Phoenix up here in this corner looking down at a nest on fire. There could be feathers swirling around in the fire."

Kenny and Wendy looked down at her scribbles with her idea in mind. Wendy joined Jade on the grass and picked up a tube of orange paint. "Let's do this!" Kenny joined the smiling girls on the ground and picked up a paint brush. After a while, Wendy set her paint brush down and walked into her house with the intention of fetching them all something to drink. She looked out the kitchen window at her two classmates hard at work. Not surprising to her, Kenny was trying to place breasts on the dying phoenix, but Jade kept pushing him away and turned the rounded lines into feathers of fire.

What Jade could not see, but Wendy could, was the way Kenny kept staring at her. His facial expressions were hidden, but it was obvious that he was looking right at the girl, not the painting, absentmindedly placing paint strokes on the canvas. _Interesting...,_ Wendy pondered, taking a mental note. She could tell that something was going on, but was not quite sure what it was. Obviously, Jade did not see him for a favor, or else she would be acting differently, as well. Something else went on, and Wendy was oddly intrigued.  
She grabbed the tray of drinks and went back outside without another thought of the boy's behavior. After passing out the glasses of water, Wendy resumed painting. With the three of them all working at once, they were able to finish the majority of their painting in no time. All that was left for them to do was add in fine detail. The three teenagers stood back to admire their handy work.

"Wow. We did great job!" chimed Jade.

"Yeah, it's beautiful!" Wendy added gleefully.

"Almost as beautiful as you ladies!" added Kenny, throwing his arms around the girls' shoulders. Wendy rolled her eyes and pushed Kenny's arm off. Jade, feeling a little awkward, bent down to grab her school bag. She figured it would be a good time to head back home, seeing as how the sun would be setting and Jade told Wendy "goodbye" and thanked her for having them over to work on their project.

The sky began turning many different shades of orange, red, and purple as Jade and Kenny walked back home. The girl felt obliged to say something - anything - to break the silence. With all the questions and presumptions running through her mind, she would have gone mad if she let them walk in silence again.

"So... How are things?" Jade asked Kenny, watching her feet as the two of them walked in sync.

"What things?" the boy questioned, knowing where she was going with her question.

"You know... with your dad?"

"...Fine."

Jade took the hint that the boy did not feel like discussing the prior night's events. Respecting his privacy, she remained quiet until reaching the McCormick house. The sun had gone down behind the mountain, causing the night to fall quickly over them. The air had already become crisp and a slight breeze made an appearance in the clear night. Feeling a chill, Jade silently waved to her friend before rushing into her home. Daisy had just finished preparing dinner, as it was obvious when Jade smelled the meal from their front door. Her parents sat in the kitchen, as always, it seemed, patiently awaiting the return of their daughters. Jade sat down at the table with her parents, wondering where Autumn could be. Surely she was not still at the Cartman residence. Trying to make time pass quickly until her youngest daughter's arrival, Daisy asked Jade how her day went.

"It went well," Jade replied with a smile, "our project is turning out amazing! We have a week left until it is due, and all we have to do is add in fine detail!" Daisy congratulated her daughter on a job well done and expressed her interest in seeing the final product. Jade redirected the conversation to her father, asking him how the shed was turning out. Back and forth small talk rotated around the table for another half hour before Autumn walked in. Her family turned to greet the bubbly girl, happy as ever.

"Oh, well you look pleased," River pointed out as his youngest daughter took a seat at the table. Her hair was pulled back in a short ponytail and she smelled of baked goods.

"Did you change Cartman's life?" Jade questioned, smiling sarcastically. Daisy questioned who this "Cartman" person was, but before Jade could inform her, Autumn started, "No, not yet, but I will! I met his mom. You wouldn't believe how sweet she is!" Her smile lessened. "Poor Lianne. Eric does nothing but give her grief and she spoils him rotten with love. I'm going to help her around the house, since her good-for-nothing son certainly is not!"

"Oh, well that's great, sweetie! I love seeing you help others in need!"

"She even invited me to help prepare dinner for a date she has tomorrow night!"

"Speaking of dinner, can we eat now?" Jade's stomach rumbled at the mere thought of food. It felt like she had not eaten in days. Her mother hopped up and retrieved their supper from the stove, scooping equal portions onto four plates. Daisy led the family in thanks to Mother Earth for giving them their food. Jade sighed to herself, idly pushing her food around the plate until their grace was all said and done. The family finished their dinner and promptly wished each other a good night's sleep. One by one, all the lights in the house went out until the only light penetrating the darkness was that of the full moon.


	13. Sabotage

_ Autumn realizes just how horrible Eric Cartman is. Jade learns that the girls were right about Kenny._

* * *

School came too early for the sisters the next day. Bleary-eyed and unmotivated, they took a seat on the hard gymnasium floor. It seemed like most of the students were affected by the Monday blues. Even Mr. Slow had to force himself to attend his own class. Something told the students that their coach had a long night last night. He was still wearing his sunglasses indoors and his hair was oddly disheveled and not slicked back like it normally was. _What a great start to the week,_ Jade thought, turning to her sister. Autumn was happy, like always, looking forward to Lianne's date night. If that was not the perfect time to teach Cartman some manners, she did not what was. The gleeful child turned to her sister and noticed a deep, thoughtful look on her face.

"Jay, what's up?" the concerned sister questioned. Jade turned to look at Autumn and forced a weak smile. Everything she learned about her friend in orange over the weekend was starting to take a toll on her. She did not like keeping secrets from her sister, but did not want her to accidentally pass information around.

"I found out some stuff about Kenny... Stuff that he wouldn't want known. Do you get where I'm going with this?" Autumn nodded in understanding and scooted closer to her sister. "He... He has a bad home life. His dad... gets violent. When I left Wendy's party, I did go to see him."

"Hah! I knew it!"  
"No, not like that! God!"

"Oh... Sorry. Carry on."

"He was a mess. He was drunk, his parents were fighting in the kitchen, his little sister was locked in her room. He... he confided in me. It was so sad..." Jade looked at his sister and frowned. "Kenny's all bruised up from his father. That's why he doesn't show his face. He hasn't told anyone about this. It's serious."

Autumn looked long and hard at her sister. "Do you think that is why he does anything for money? Because he's emotionally damaged? Because he needs to feel needed?" Jade glared at her sister, but softened her look and redirected it to the ground. "I... I don't know," she replied with a sigh. "I don't know what is going on with him. And that's another thing; I just cannot believe what all of those girls said. Maybe I haven't seen that side of him before, but I can't imagine him doing favors for petty cash."

"So, he supposedly sleeps around, is emotionally disturbed, and an alcoholic. Are you sure you don't want to pursue Craig? He's a little apathetic himself, but seems a little more... stable."

Jade sighed again. "Kenny is my friend."

Autumn raised her eyebrows. "And maybe he should only be a friend?" Jade's face became slightly tinted with pink. Fiddling with her sleeve, she turned back to her sister. "Is it that obvious?" The brunette rolled her eyes. "I'm your sister. I know things." The two girls sat wordless among the hushed conversations all around them. "He's trouble," started Autumn, "you know that, right?" Jade bit her lower lip and nodded solemnly. There was another moment of silence before the ear-piercing shriek of Mr. Slow's whistle cut through the air. It was time for them to walk laps around the gym.

The two girls stood and began the tedious warm-up exercise. Jade was feeling pretty down by the time they completed one lap. She knew she should not get her hopes up, but from what she had heard so far, hoping would be futile. She had to settle it once and for all and confront her friend about his alleged "job." Until she knew for sure, it would keep eating at her. Jade grew tired of worrying about her own troubles and turned to her sister.

"Have you noticed how Cartman only messes with you?"

"Well, yeah, but you go out of your way to hide our lineage."

"Lineage of peace-loving, war-hating, flowers and vegetable shit family?" This remark gained an angry glance from Autumn. "Sorry, sorry, anyway... I think he likes you." That time, Autumn laughed out loud.

"You're joking?"

"No, I really think he does! He's always making an effort to insult you and try and bring you down."

"That hardly sounds like admiration."

"You know how boys are! Well, at least in elementary school. When they pick on you, it means they like you!"

"Okay, Sis, whatever you say. Let's just leave that kind of stuff up to me, okay?" Jade simply laughed at her sister. _Deny it all you want, but I see something there! _

Shortly after everyone walked ten laps around the gym, Mr. Slow blew his whistle again. He announced their schedule for the remainder of class, which included a game of four-square and indoor baseball. Per usual, Autumn sat out while everyone else participated. At least today, the coach did not seem to care.

The general morale around the school remained the same throughout the day. There was minimum laughter about and all the teachers just wanted Monday to be over with. Mrs. Holscok was no exception. She slapped piles of papers down onto each desk in the front row and instructed each student to pass the papers back. Next, she handed out textbooks to go with the assignment. After a short monotonous speech on what the students were to do, she plopped down into her desk chair and began graded papers - papers that were supposed to be graded the night before. Every so often, she would scan the classroom to make sure everyone was working and not slacking off. Among the hushed conversations, two students caught her eye.

In the very back of the room, Kenny and the boy in the desk to his right were turned around in their seats facing each other. In between them, out of sight from the teacher, was a magazine. Mrs. Holscok watched them like a hawk and as silently as a cat stalking its prey, wobbled her way to them.

As he noticed her approaching them, Kenny quickly closed the magazine and sat on it. The other student went back to working, not even glancing up as their teacher stood between them. She held out her hand, demanding the magazine. When the boy in orange refused to hand it to her, she gave him a threatening look. "Kenneth, hand it over right now. Make me ask again, and you will have to get it back from the principal." Muffled obscenities came from the boy's mouth as he handed the magazine to the teacher.

Mrs. Holscok's eyes grew large. "A nudie mag? In my classroom?" Students had set down their pens and pencils to watch, others commented "typical McCormick" and continued watching. "Kenneth McCormick! This is not acceptable! To the principal's office - NOW!" Jade watched uncomfortably as her friend ripped his magazine from the teacher's hand before leaving the classroom with a "fuck you, you fat bitch." Of course, Cartman cheered him on. Jade directed her attention over to Autumn, who had partnered up with Wendy. _Maybe he is too much trouble... Maybe I should just... _Her eyes moved to the seat behind her sister, which she just now noticed was empty. Where was Craig? Jade sighed and rested her chin on her palm, gazing down at her completed assignment. What a day it was turning out t be.

* * *

Kenny went straight to detention. He knew where he was going to be sent, so why bother with seeing the principal first? He signed his name on the detention sign-in sheet and his reason for being there: _Teacher being a prude._ He waved at the man behind the desk before taking a seat next to one of the three other students in detention. He held his fist out to the student next to him, who promptly completed the fist bump. "Hey, man."

"Hey." It was none other than Craig Tucker. "What did you do?" Kenny pulled his rolled up magazine out of his pocket and waved it in front of the kid's face. Craig snorted. "Idiot." Kenny just grinned and returned the magazine to his pocket. Craig and Kenny went way back. Even though their two groups of friends still do not quite get along, the two of them found each other to be the only ones they could truly trust. Ever since elementary school, Craig and Kenny stuck together in a sort of secretive way. To avoid causing trouble between their friends, the only time they associated with each other was outside of school or, as there were then, in detention.

"What's up with you and that girl, McCormick?" came the monotone voice of Craig. Kenny chuckled from inside his hood. "Which one?" he responded in a joking manner, but completely serious.

"The blonde girl."

"Bebe? Shit, man. She's insane." Kenny leaned back in his seat and kicked his legs up onto his desk. "I see her every couple days. She pays out the ass to see me." Craig gave the blond his signature icy stare. The smug look on Kenny's face sickened him. How could someone even be like that?

"No, the new girl," Craig corrected his prideful friend.

"Jade? What about her?" Kenny's smirk straightened out to a straight face.

"You're around her a lot. She paying you, too?"

Kenny snickered, his playful grin back on his face. "Hah! Not yet, she isn't!" Craig rolled his eyes. "Do you have to fuck every girl you see, McCormick?"

"Why? You jealous or somethin', Tucker?" He leaned sideways, closer to the boy in blue, looking him dead in the eyes. "You want some of this?" Kenny raised an eyebrow and provocatively licked his lip. Craig frowned and turned back to face his desk. Just as the blond expected, the only answer he got was a middle finger in the face. Kenny's chuckle annoyed Craig even more_. That sick bastard lives too much on the edge. What is so bad about just sticking to one thing and staying like that?_ He could never live like Kenny. It just sounded way too tiring.

Craig sat motionless at his desk, keeping an eye on the clock. There was still quite a while to go before school ended and he had nothing to work on. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew the detention teacher would never allow it. As much as he preferred the environment of the detention room over a loud, hectic classroom, he found himself growing ever so much bored. He had no pencil, no paper, nothing. To his left, Kenny was flipping back through his forbidden magazine. To his right, another student was writing an essay about why smoking in the boy's restroom was a bad thing to do. Craig looked back at the clock - only a few minutes had passed by. He slid down in his seat and stared at his desk. _I wonder what Stripe is doing right now... _The boy slipped into his mind, wondering all sorts of questions. _ Who has the right to say we can't dig a hole to China... has anyone even tried? Hmm... I wonder if ManBearPig is still around... _All of the troublemakers behaved themselves, all off in their own little worlds. There was only a few hours left before they could become free again.

The moment the final bell of the day rang, students were racing to head home. It did not take long before the hallways had cleared out with the exception of a few groups of friends here and there. As Jade approached her sister, she noticed Stan and Kyle talking with her. The blonde sister greeted the two boys and asked what was happening. Stan informed Jade that he and the other guys were going to have a get-together at his house to watch the new season premiere of Terrance and Phillip and that they were welcome to join. Autumn politely declined, and informed she would be at the Cartman house, which received questioning looks from Stan and Kyle. She informed them about Lianne's date, which brought up laughter and "good lucks" followed by them telling her how big of a baby Cartman is when his mother has a date. Autumn shrugged and grinned widely at them. "I'm sure it will go wonderfully!" Jade patted her sister on the shoulder and turned to Stan.

"Well, I don't have an impossible mission, so I'll be there! I'm curious about this wonderful show you've been mentioning." The two boys nodded and informed Jade about how awesome the upcoming series was going to be. Wendy trotted up to Stan, kissed him on the cheek, and carried him away from his group in a gust. Kyle, sighing, waved goodbye to the sisters and tried catching up with his best friend and his girl. The two sisters walked home, getting ready for both of their nights.

* * *

The chime of the doorbell rang through the house. As always, the smell of freshly cooked food swirled out from the open windows. Autumn heard quick footsteps behind the door, and seconds later, Lianne's smiling face opened the door. The excited woman welcomed Autumn in. The first course was already prepared and ready to be set up. Lianne was preparing the main course - broiled chicken breasts with wild rice and fresh veggies - when Autumn had arrived. Hearing the doorbell ring, Cartman trudged down the stairs, his arms crossed and, oddly, a smile on his face.  
"Oh, Poopsiekins! Look here is here!" Autumn raised an eyebrow at the smiling Cartman, suspicious. "My date will be here in half an hour and I haven't even gotten ready yet! Sweetie, will you help Miss Autumn finish up the chicken?"

"Oh, but of course, sweet mother of mine!" Autumn was now very suspicious. The two teenagers went into the kitchen, Autumn keeping a steady eye on the boy. The meal was mostly prepared. All that was left to do was put seasoning on the chicken and pop it into the oven. Cartman began grabbing various seasonings from the spice cabinet, but was interrupted by Autumn.

"Okay, what's going on?" she demanded, snatching all the spices away from him. "What's with this sudden eagerness to help?" Cartman sighed in exasperation and turned quickly on the girl.

"Do you know what it is like to grow up without a father? Do you know how it makes a little boy feel to not have an adult male figure to look up to?" His eyes began to tear up. Autumn's lower lip quivered. "Every man my mother sees ends up hurting her... and it hurts me to see that." The boy sniffled and wiped at his eyes. "I just want this time to be different." Autumn felt horrible for snapping at Cartman, but at the same time, was overjoyed that he shared his feelings with her. "Don't worry," she put a comforting hand on Cartman's shoulder, "we will make this the best dinner date ever!"

Autumn turned away from the boy with the spices and began sprinkling them over the chicken breasts. Cartman, sniffling again, began to smile. _Sweet! This is going just as planned! I knew this would be easy. _ He reached into the pantry and pulled out a bagged of chopped up peanuts. "Autumn," he called. The girl slowly turned around, donning one of her largest smiles. "You called me by my name!" she squealed before prancing over to him.

"Here," Cartman handed her the bag of peanut pieces, "add some of these into the rice. Her date loves peanuts." The girl graciously accepted the bag and dumped it into the wild rice mix. After sprucing up the chicken, she slid it into the oven. Thirty minutes and the meal would be ready. Lianne strolled back to the dining room, all dolled up. Autumn told her how gorgeous she looked, and not a minute too late; the doorbell rang.

Through the door came a tall man with slick black hair and a navy blue turtleneck. A pair of wire frame glasses sat crooked on his face. Lianne welcomed him into her home and introduced him to Autumn. She informed him that dinner would be ready in just a few moments. Lianne and her date, Johnny, sat down at the dinner table and began talking about their days. Back in the kitchen, Autumn took out the chicken and directed Cartman to grab the rice and vegetables. The two teenagers set the food on the table for the adults.

"Enjoy dinner, you two! Come on, Eric, let's give them some privacy." Autumn grabbed a hold of the boy's jacket, to his dislike, and led him up his own stairs.

"Wait, hold on." Cartman sat on the top step of the stairs and peeked through the stair posts. "I have to see this."

"See what?"

"Shhh, quiet, hippie!"

"Hey!"

The adults continued to finish off their salads, talking about this and that. Cartman started chuckling maniacally when they began eating the main course.

"Just know you were a part of this."

"Eric, what are you-"

Johnny began coughing and grabbing at his throat. In a matter of seconds, his face was swollen and covered in hives. Lianne was starting to panic, asking what was going on. "You know I am severely allergic to peanuts! Why would you cook with them?" Johnny managed to yell. "Call 9-1-1!"

"Eric!" Autumn yelled. "You did this on purpose!" She flew down the stairs, trying to find some way to help out. At the top of the stairs, Cartman just watched, pleased with himself. _That should teach her to try and mess with me through my meem. _He walked into his room and closed the door. He watched out his window as an ambulance came to their house. He could hear his mother telling Autumn it would be best for her to go home. Feeling absolutely horrible, the girl left. Not only was Johnny's allergic reaction getting to her, but the fact that it was now obvious there was no getting through to Eric Cartman. The only thing she might be able to do is beat him at his own game, but she never would have the heart for it.

* * *

A few streets away, Jade sat on Stan's couch, laughing at how anxious all the boys were about their show. She just about lost it when they started singing all together.

"Shut your fucking face, uncle fucker! You're the one that fucks your uncle, uncle fucker! You don't even sleep or mow the lawn; you fuck your uncle all day long!"

"What's going on in here?" Everyone fell silent and turned to look behind the couch. Standing at the base of the stairs was Stan's older sister, Shelley. "Shut up, turds! I'm trying to get my beauty sleep!" They all laughed, but were silenced by Shelley. "I mean it! I'll call Mom and Dad!" The teenagers fell quiet, apologized, and turned back to the television. They listened as Shelley stomped back upstairs and slammed her door.

Kyle turned to Stan. "Dude, why is she still living here? Shouldn't she be at college or something?" Stan shrugged and stood up. "Beats me, dude. Anyone need a drink?" Kenny hopped off the arm of the couch and followed Stan into the kitchen. Wendy, who was sitting next to Jade, asked why Autumn was not there with them. Her reaction was the same as Stan and Kyle's.

"That dumbass is up to something. I'd keep an eye on him." Jade nodded in agreement. A few seconds later, the theme song for Terrance and Phillip came on, bringing Stan and Kenny back into the living room, each with a drink in their hands. Kenny took a seat back on the arm of the couch next to Jade. Wendy glanced over at them out of the corner of her eyes. Kenny had already had a few drinks, since he takes it whenever he can. There was obviously something bothering Jade. Wendy put two-and-two together and realized what was going on. For a second, she felt bad about telling Jade about the person Kenny really is, but it was better to let her know before anything happened between the two of them.

Five minutes into the show, Jade was aghast. What was so appealing about two Canadians making fart jokes? Every so often, they would break it up with other bodily functions. All of the boys were so engrossed in the show. She just did not understand. It seemed like forever before a commercial came around.

"Dude, this is the best season ever! I love the new material!"

"I know! I can't wait for the next new episode!"

Kenny stood up to go make himself another drink. Everyone else was buzzing on about the show, so Jade took the opportunity to sneak off after Kenny. In the kitchen, she watched him pour his drink; half alcohol, half Coca-Cola. She walked up next to him and smiled weakly.

"Want a drink?" he asked her, holding out the rum bottle. She shook her head, but took the bottle from him anyway. Kenny could tell from the look on her face that something was bothering her. "What's up, Blondie?" Jade set the bottle on the counter and took a step back.

"I've been wondering something."

"What's that?"

"Um. Can we go talk outside?"

Kenny looked at her, puzzled, but shrugged. "Yeah, just a sec - hey, guys? I'm stepping out. You better fuckin' tell me when the show comes back on." Stan and Kyle waved him off, while Wendy watched the two walk outside. Once outside, Kenny leaned against the house, calmly bringing his glass to his lips. Jade, on the other hand, was shifting from foot to foot next to him. "I heard some things," she began timidly. "I figured it would be best to ask you about it." The inebriated Kenny stayed quiet to let her speak. "When I was at Wendy's with the other girls, they said some things about you..." Jade was not expecting to hear a chuckle from inside the fur-lined hood. She turned her head to look at him, her heart dropping, expecting to hear the worst.

"They said they've all _been _with you, that they _pay _you." Again, a small chuckle came from the boy. "They said you're a _god _to them."

"Damn right." Kenny downed his drink before turning to her. "Yeah, I'll fuck for money. It's just like any other job, except I can't get fired. I'm the boss, and I'm fuckin' good at it." Jade's heart sunk into her stomach. They were right. How was he being so casual about it? "I figured you would find out soon," he swished the melting ice around the glass, "one way or another." The girl's jaw dropped. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"But, why? Why do you do it?"

"I'm dirt poor, my life fuckin' sucks, and the only thing girls see in me is my fuckin' dick."

Jade laughed mockingly at the boy and swung around to stand in front of him. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Your life wouldn't suck so much if you actually took charge of it! You could do something about your dad beating on you, but you don't! And maybe if you weren't so crude all the time, girls wouldn't only want you for one thing!"

Kenny pushed up off the wall, standing straight up. "If you think I'm such a fuckin' disappointment like everyone else, you can just fuck off." He started walking off, but stopped midstep when Jade called after him. He looked over his shoulder at the girl. Now speechless, Jade raised her hands up near her shoulders. "What the hell, Kenny?"

"It's who I am. It's what I like to do."

Jade shook her head in disbelief. "You know... you were a pretty cool guy before. But now... I don't even know." Before Kenny could get another word in, Jade had left. A twinge of regret ran through him. "Shit..." Not being able to do anything, he went back inside for another drink. Right as he stepped inside, Stan was coming to get him.

"Hey, Terrance and Phillip is back on! Where's Jade?"

"She went home."

"Well, hurry up, dude!"

Kenny sighed and took a seat back on the couch. Wendy scanned his face and noticed one person was missing. _What is going on with them? _she wondered, noticing remorse on the blond boy's face. Stan put his arm around her shoulders and looked at her thoughtful face. "Everything okay?" His girlfriend nodded and smiled at him. All three of the boys were now back to watching and laughing at their favorite show. Wendy decided that she was going to get down to the bottom of the mystery. It was really none of her business, but she sure was curious.

After the show was over, Kenny left Stan's house. He drew his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. With a few button presses, the phone rang. Kenny wobbled a bit as he slowly walked to nowhere, waiting for the person on the other end of the phone to pick up. After ringing for what seemed like forever, the call went through.

"What do you want?"  
"...Craig?"  
"What?"  
"Stark's?"  
"...Yeah."  
"See you in a bit."  
"Whatever."  
Kenny closed his phone and returned it to his pocket. A chill breeze caused the boy to tug on the drawstrings of his hood. Colder weather was starting to set in as the leaves began to turn shades of orange and red. It began getting harder to walk straight, but he did not care. As he made it to Stark's Pond, he noticed that Craig was already there.


	14. Reveal

****_Kenny meets up with Craig to talk, then receives a call from Bebe that he cannot turn down._

* * *

"Hey, dude."

"Hey."

Kenny sat down next to Craig on an old tree trunk. Stark's Pond was their usual late-night meeting place whenever they needed to just get away. Even though it would not kill them to be seen together, Kenny and Craig preferred to hang out in secrecy. There was still quite a bit of tension between the boys' groups of friends and they did not want to start a war by making their friendship public.

Craig inhaled deeply, drawing the smoke from his joint down his trachea and into his lungs. The smoke swirled around momentarily before being expelled back the way it came. Without turning to look at him, Craig held the joint out for Kenny, who graciously accepted the offer. He took a big hit and exhaled slowly. The boys sat in peace, enjoying each other's almost forbidden company while their minds began to swirl around like the smoke passing through their lungs. The frigid wind would occasionally intrude in their space, which, somehow, reminded Kenny of something. He turned to his solemn friend with heavy eyes. Catching the motion in his periphery, Craig glanced over at Kenny. The two stared at each other, their blue eyes daring the other to speak first.

"…What?" Craig asked in his usual monotone voice. The boy in orange sighed and looked down at his feet on the snowy ground. "Earth to McCormick," Craig pushed on. Kenny looked back up at Craig.

"Fuck, dude… Jade."

"What about her?" questioned Craig, not really caring.

"...I like her." Kenny mumbled into his fur-lined hood, sounding more or less ashamed.

"Okay?"

"No, it's not okay. You know how I am. And the few times I settled with one girl, it never worked. One girl I had to convince to date me and lived on the other side of the country; the other one tricked me into giving up my dick." A rare chuckle came from Craig. Kenny frowned at him. "It's not fucking funny!"

"It was pretty funny."

"Asshole."

Kenny took another hit from the joint. The two boys were back to silence. The night was getting colder as the hours got later, and before they knew it, it was already after midnight. Craig stood up and looked down at his friend. He asked him if he would make it home okay, to which Kenny replied, "This is nothin'. I was fine when I was cheesing and I am fine right now." The look on his face told Craig otherwise. They had been friends for several years; he could tell when something was not right.

"Come on, McCormick," the nasally voice echoed a few times in Kenny's head – not quite empty, but only filled with one thought. _I fucked it all up. The one girl that might actually care, and I told her to fuck off. What the fuck is my problem?_ The boy in orange walked slowly next to Craig, not able to recall when they started walking. How long had they been walking? Had he been talking this whole time, or was he only talking inside his mind? _No, I'm not saying anything out loud... I need to say something out loud… but I don't want to. What-…  
_"-what am I going to do?" Kenny focused his attention on the ground, on each individual pebble. "I fucked up, dude. I told her everything. The look on her face… Fuckin' hell, man. She hates me now." Craig shrugged, the gesture unseen by his faded friend. "Then stop being a whore."

Kenny shook his head – which was a bad idea. Everything around him twirled, making him reach out towards Craig for support, nearly yanking off the boy's chullo. Kenny paused to bring himself back down before retorting, "Fuck no, dude. I'm fuckin' awesome at what I do. I can't let the ladies down," he replied. Craig kept walking, making Kenny have to catch back up to him. He straightened his hat and jammed his hands back into his pockets.

"I like it better when you don't talk."

Kenny took the not-so-subtle hint and quieted himself, returning to his mind. The two boys walked side-by-side for a while longer until they reached town. Craig stopped at an intersection to look at his friend. "What now?"

"I think... I think I'm going to-" Kenny's phone started ringing, the ringtone sounding loud as a siren in the silent night. "It's Bebe..." With a flip of the screen, he answered the call.

"Hello? Ken?"  
"Bebe? It's late."

"Exactly. Can I, like, come over?" Kenny paused to think a second before answering. He could tell that Craig was giving him a look of disapproval. "Bebe...?"

"Well? Can I?"

"...fuck yeah, you can."

"Awesome. See you in a bit, stud."

Kenny lowered the phone from his ear. The world was still spinning around him, but was starting to slow down. Either way, he needed to lie down soon. He turned to Craig, who was just staring at him.

"You're an idiot."

"And you're being a judgmental asshole."

"You're going to regret it, McCormick. You always do."

"Don't you just know me so well?"

"Yes. I do."

Kenny chuckled and playfully shoved Craig. The deadpan look on the boy in blue cracked for a split second, revealing a smirk. Craig shook his head and held his hand up in a salute to his friend. "I'll see you tomorrow." Kenny looked down at the phone still clutched in his hand. _Oh yeah, Bebe... _She would probably be waiting for him by the time he made it back to his house. _I better not keep her waiting for too long. _

Sure enough, Bebe was waiting under Kenny's window when he arrived home. He motioned for her to stay there while he went in to open the window for her. Without any hesitation, she crawled through the window into Kenny's bare room. Casually, Kenny walked over to his mattress on the floor and lied down. Bebe followed suit, kneeling next to him. She stretched out a hand to unzip his parka, but was denied by Kenny grabbing her hand. In one swift movement, he pulled the girl on top of him. She gazed into his shadow-covered face playfully.

"When will you take that silly thing off for me, huh?" Bebe attempted pushing his hood away from his face. Kenny quickly pulled it back up.

"Sorry, babe, that will be an additional hundred bucks." He pulled her beside him and hovered over her. The look on her face was almost too much for him. He loved his job. He started to get her warmed up as clothing was removed - except for his orange parka. All the excitement made his head start spinning again, and before he knew it, he found it difficult to tell how fast time was passing. All he knew was that he felt damn good.

After all was said and done, Kenny looked over at Bebe and brushed her wavy blonde hair out of her face. She looked over at his alarm clock on the other side of the room and sat up. It was early morning now and school was only a few hours away. She stood up to get dressed and tossed a hundred-dollar bill onto the mattress. Kenny grabbed the money and stowed it away in the nightstand by his bed.

"I'll see ya later, handsome!" And with that, Bebe left as quickly as she came. Kenny settled back down on his bed, ready to fall asleep. All of his worries had gone away and he felt fine. Tomorrow was another day, a day he was not looking forward to. However, no matter how hard he tried, there was no staying awake. No, not after the night he had.


End file.
